The Dwindling Light
by jori-ulrand
Summary: Mariko, confused and alone, suffers from a mysterious curse that poison's her mind and body. She fights against this rage within. But the curse is not the worst of her troubles. She's a failed ninja, with no family. And now the man she has feelings for and grew up with, is a mass murderer, an outcast, and a traitor. Will she succumb to darkness, or hold fast to the light?
1. Prologue

PROLOUGE

Dusk had finally retired for the next twenty-four hours as the night slowly enveloped the forest. The heavy evening grasped at any light it could find in its greedy embrace and swallowed it whole. Its black fingers made their way across the forest floor, growing longer in its gluttony.

It was late summer and the air was muggy but cool as one ninja slinked his way over fallen rotting logs. His steps were so careful and so skilled not even a leaf crunched underfoot. Not even the local animals were alerted to his presence

His long black hair hung loose and draped freely across his shoulders, the breeze making the stray strands wave friendly at one another.

The forest brought a temporary peace. Like balm, lively crickets lulled the ache in his chest with their song and the croaking frogs soothed the guilt that constantly pounded in his ears.

The meeting he had just departed from was a tedious one that ran needlessly long. Afterwards, he had gone home to shed his burdensome red and black cloak before taking his walk, despite the late hour.

A sudden feeling, like an ice cube sliding down a warm neck, chased away all comforting feelings and pricked his senses, stopping him in his wake.

In a blink, he was in the shadows of a dormant tree. He hid in its ancient protective shadow, listening and waiting until he heard a being crashing through the undergrowth.

He cautiously peeked around the trunk just as a small frame stumbled into view. A young woman was flat on the ground, her feet slipping and sliding on the mud as she struggled to rise. She had a panicked look in her eyes and she was fixated on something over her shoulder.

The icy feeling raced down his spine again as familiarity with the woman made his stomach clench.

Itachi stepped around the tree, revealing himself.

After a moment, he muttered her name in a low voice. Her wild demeanor was setting him on edge. In his virtuosity, he was already calculating all the possible scenarios and how to avoid or overcome them with precision.

The woman's head whipped in his direction. Time seemed to slow down as their eyes locked. "I know you" her gaze said and she looked at him as though he were a luscious island after being stranded at sea.

Something stirred inside of him, making him feel uncomfortably comfortable.

As they both came back to reality, Itachi observed her. She had no weapons on her from what he could see. Her clothing was torn and battered, thorns and foliage stuck out in all directions in her hair. Her skin was luminous in the moonlight and the blood that plastered her arm and face was black.

Suddenly she sprinted towards him. He knew he should have gone on the defensive, but for reasons unbeknownst to him, his body refused to move as she charged.

She ran at him with her arms stretched out, reaching for him with taunt fingers. As she got closer, he noticed fat globs of tears streaming down her cheeks. She was glistening with sweat and panting for air with loud panicked gasps.

Crashing into him, her hands clawed and clutched at his tunic. She was quivering violently, her shoulders shaking with each breath. The word stroke flew into his head.

"Itachi..." She looked up at him with childlike trust behind her eyes. Fear scrunched up her face. "Please, please help me!" Clinging to him tighter, a small sob tumbled from between her lips as if she was reminded of the direness of her situation. "Please...you have to help me!"

Before he could respond in any way, her eyes rolled and she started to collapse.

Catching her with ease, his long lithe arms encircling her. Her sudden hush made the forest eerily quiet. The frogs and crickets now stunned to silence. The peace he felt within the green overgrowth before was replaced by wariness.

He honed his senses and listened for a sign of some sort of pursuer. Not a peep was made until the night creatures gained their bravery again and started their chirping and croaking once more.

Still somewhat shocked by what had just happened, he stood there motionless. Unsure of what to do next, he stared down at the woman he was supporting.

She was out cold. Despite her war torn look and her mouth slack in unconsciousness, she looked exactly as he remembered.

Turning around, he started walking, carrying her with him. He sauntered over the twigs and leaves just as silently as before, as if he were carrying a paper bag as opposed to another person. He kept his guard up, searching for nearby aggressive chakra, in case whatever was chasing her came back.

Knowing it was a dumb idea, he headed for home


	2. Day 1

DAY 1

"Tell me, were you dropped on your head as an infant, Itachi..?" Kisame asked, crossing his arms, his eyes beady and judging. "This is foolish..." he motioned to the woman on the bed with a careless wave of his hand."...keeping her here."

Itachi rocked back on his heels. "I know." His eyes traced the patterns on the wood floor, thinking.

The room was small and modestly furnished. One large tatami took up most of the space, to the left of that was a short bedside table with a small porcelain lamp. Other than that and a couple of windows, the room was plain. Most of Itachi's house was. He didn't spend a whole lot of time there.

Itachi and Kisame were standing in two of the room's corners, studying the woman whom was still unconscious and drooling. She was sleeping so soundly in fact that Itachi had gone over more than once to make sure she was still breathing.

The men were quiet for a few moments. Both were contemplating and shamelessly curious about her; their eyes staring and searching for evidence of where she came from and who she was.

"Honestly, I have to know, what is your plan?" Kisame asked looking back at his friend with a tilted head. "It will be very interesting listening to you attempt to explain this."

"What plan?"

"With the girl."

"There isn't a plan."

Kisame turned towards him, managing to look stunned and smug at the same time. "No Pl- what do you mean, no plan?"

Itachi strode towards the large window and watched the stream lull by just outside. The leaves floating just above the water reminded him of autumn's quick approach. "Kisame, do you know this woman?"

His blue comrade sighed obnoxiously loud to announce his impatience, "Of course not."

Itachi clasped his hands loosely behind his back, tracing his thumb against his palm. "This is Mariko of the hidden leaf, one of my oldest friends." His eyes became slightly glazed as his mind travelled elsewhere. "She accompanied my team and me on a few missions during the brief time I was a genin."

Kisame scratched his chin. "So what. You had a crush on her or something?" He bared his sharp teeth in a grin. "And now, out of the blue, she stumbles across you, in the woods, and collapses into your waiting arms?" Kisame spread his arms out, strutted about like a peacock on display and chuckled at his own wit.

Itachi rolled his eyes and laughed darkly. "This isn't some second rate romance novel."

"Oh, of course, of course..." Kisame conceded unconvincingly with pursed lips.

"We have more important matters at hand." Itachi said as her strode over to Mariko's side, ignoring Kisame's unintelligible muttering about him changing the subject.

He knelt next to the bed, lifted her left hand, and extended her palm out. "After I brought her back I noticed this mark on her hand."

Kisame came closer and leaned down to get a look. Her palm had a dark green and yellow bruise like mark in the center of her hand. It was swollen. Protruding veins stretched out from the mark like tree roots bubbling up from underneath her skin.

"What is that?"

"I wish I knew."

The hand was jerked out of his grasp. Both of their heads darted up. Mariko was now awake. With round and watery eyes, she clutched the bedside lamp with both hands. "Where am I?"

The two men just stared at her and waited, not with bated breath but with calm faces as if she were as menacing as a kitten.

Her teeth ground her together audibly and in one swift movement, slammed the lamp against the wall behind her. The shattering echoed through the house. She pointed the now sharpened end at Itachi's face.

"Where am I!?" she repeated, her voice fierce.

Kisame laughed. The sound rumbled from deep inside the walls of his stomach. "Well I'll give you this Itachi, she has spunk!" He edged closer and studied her face.

"Stay BACK." Mariko threatened. She turned her makeshift weapon towards Kisame, the tip actually grazing his nose.

Kisame flashed his sharp teeth menacingly and easily jerked the lamp out of her hand. She let out a horrified squeak as he grabbed her wrist.

"You don't know who you're threatening, do you? That kind of hurt you know..."

Itachi let out a quiet breath. He hated whenever he got like this. It didn't take much for Kisame to become primal. He looked for any excuse to act like the animal he so favored.

Perhaps that's why they were paired together. There were only a handful of times where Itachi had lost his cool and had become...primal. He wasn't proud of it either.

He thought of the time where Sasuke had snapped his favorite toy in two. Itachi had yelled at him and shoved him hard. He had knocked Sasuke over and felt so bad for it he had confessed the act to his parents.

He shoved the thoughts away before they could take hold.

"Perhaps you should leave, Kisame." Itachi said coolly, sounding bored. "I'll let you know the plan when I figure it out myself." He rose from his kneeling position and crossed his arms, cocking his hips slightly to the side.

With an amused grunt, Kisame released her hand and she dropped like a sack of potatoes. He made his way towards the door, his heavy feet rattling the house fixtures. "Good luck, kid." He muttered towards them with a smirk before striding out the door, ducking to keep from bumping his head.

Itachi wasn't sure which one of them he was talking to.

His eyes trailed after his team mate until he was out of sight, then he turned towards Mariko. She was trembling, but she was still managing to glare at him.

"What did you do to my hand?" She demanded in what was a poor excuse for a command while shaking her arm roughly. "Why did you take me?" Her voice raised an octave as she worked herself up. "What do you want, Itachi?"

He blinked, gathering his thoughts, before answering. He strained to keep his reply gentle and calculated. "I don't want anything from you, Mariko. You stumbled across me in the woods last night and passed out."

He grimaced inwardly as he heard his own words, which sounded quite un-calculated. It had been awhile before he actually had the opportunity to comfort someone. He was out of practice.

"What are you talking about?" She shook her head. A vein bulged slightly in her neck. "I was home in the village last night. You must've kidnapped me! Stop lying!" She demanded.

She wiggled like she was about to crawl out from beneath the covers but Itachi sat on the end of the bed, trying his hardest to appear unthreatening. "I'm telling the truth." His eyebrows knitted together. "Are you sure, absolutely sure, that you were in the leaf village last night?"

Mariko paused. He could see wheels turning behind her eyes. Her resolve was faltering. "Of...of course I was." She stared at him intensely as if she looked at him hard enough, he would give her the answers she wanted. "I had to...where else would I be?"

Her head fell into her hands, her fingers rubbing her temples. "Why am I here? Why can't I remember? And oh my god my head hurts."

Itachi observed her inner struggle for a moment. He had so many memories flood into his head as he watched.

"How are you feeling?" He asked. Once again, he tried to keep his voice calm and soothing, but his tone just fell flat.

She looked up at him, tears brimmed her golden eyes. Itachi was taken aback. This wasn't the young woman he once knew. Mariko from his childhood was stoic and always confident. She wasn't this trembling, teary, woman before him. He could count on one hand how many times he had seen her cry. But things change, and he had been away for a while. He hoped that time and maybe puberty were the only ones responsible for making her so emotional. He doubted that was it but he hoped.

Leaning on the palm he placed on top of the bed, he bent a little closer. "What can you remember, Mariko?" He muttered softly.

She wiped her nose on her wrist, creating an innocent demeanor for herself. "I- I remember going for a walk, but having to go back to my apartment for my bag, because I-"

Mariko abruptly snapped her mouth shut, sat up straight as a board, and threw the covers off. She swiftly got to her feet. Itachi immediately followed suit. He felt anxious at the impending argument. Dread was hollowing a pit in his stomach.

She swayed slightly before steadying herself, cursing under her breath. "What am I doing?"

That was the Mariko he remembered. A girl with a spine of steel and slightly abrasive and offensive.

She took a step towards him and jerked her chin up, challenging him. "I should just cut off your head right now...you traitor." She narrowed her eyes to slits and Itachi could tell she was trying her hardest to intimidate him. It just came across as cheesy. "You have a lot of nerve to talk to me like you are my friend." She strung out the last word, making it sound like an insult.

He smirked and his left eyebrow rose, unable to keep the bite out of voice. "You could try, princess. But we both know the outcome."

With no other warning than a small cry she lunged at him with her bare hands, her nails clawing to reach his throat.

Not even batting an eye, he counted her movement. He used her momentum against herself and propelled her to the floor.

Fury lit her face. She tried again and failed once more. This time, when her fingertips* grazed his throat, he slammed her body against the wall, pinning her, and causing a small picture frame to fall to the floor with a loud bang. His forearm was firm against her throat.

"Stop this stupidity!" He commanded, annoyed with her. "You can't win." He said, hating sounding so condescending but stating what was shamefully obvious.

"It's not about winning..." She choked* out. Her fingers pulled at his wrists. "I would die for the honor of protecting the village...my village."

He thought his eyes would get stuck in the back of his skull, as he rolled them hard at her and her melodramatic ness*. He dropped her.

She fell to the floor, barely catching herself on her hands, coughing, and rubbing her neck.

"Stop Mariko."

"No! You need to-"

She stooped suddenly and gave a soft cry. She grabbed her wrist and extended her palm, studying the mark.

Itachi felt a flop in his stomach. The mark had spread, it's menacing green veins starting to crawl up her fingers and spread down to her wrist.

"Wha..." Mariko's eyes widened in shock.

Itachi crouched next to her and took her hand before she could protest.

"We need to get you help."

"The medical ninja in the leaf are very-"

"There isn't time." Itachi snapped impatiently. "You are very far from the hidden leaf and this mark is spreading. It's...unusual."

"What do you mean by unusual?" She asked, matching the tone of his voice mockingly.

"I mean it doesn't look natural." He stood up to his full height. "That much is apparent. I know someone who might be able to help."

"But-"

He grabbed her by the arm and hoisted her up as easily as a ragdoll.

"Follow me."

Itachi started to walk out. Mariko stood rooted to the floor.

"Why should I trust you?" She asked skeptical.

He looked at her over his shoulder. "You can't..." He pulled his hair back out of his face into a high samurai style ponytail. "I'm not asking you to trust me." he smiled ruefully. "I'm asking you to follow me."

He walked to a sliding door that opened into a closet. He paused as he started to reach for his Akatsuki cloak out of habit. Instead he grabbed a simple black jacket. He shrugged it on over his black undershirt. He zipped it up halfway and straightened it out by brushing his palms over the worn leather.

"It's starting to get chilly out, you might want this." When he tossed a dark blue hoodie her way, Mariko didn't move. It fell to the floor with a light thud. She stood still, holding her wrist tightly, and looking like a forlorn statue.

He looked at the hoodie resting on the floor and sighing, turned to face her. "Or instead, we can sit here gawking at each other until that thing spread-"

"Fine! Fine let's go..." Mariko said, as she made her way to the doorframe, shrugging on the too big coat, which barely hung on her skinny frame, making her look disproportionate.

And pretty endearing he admitted.

She glared at him once more as she walked out the door. "This doesn't change anything, Uchiha..."

Itachi released a breath through his nose, picked up a couple of knapsacks from the closet, and shut the door behind him as he followed her out.

The woods were relatively quiet as they made their way down an old overgrown trail. The leaves on the trees were a dull green, losing their vibrancy in the late summer air. The road they walked was less travelled, branches reaching out, leaves littered about, the occasional spider web that made your skin crawl when it caressed your flesh. The forest gradually consumed the trail it in its never ending appetite.

The afternoon sun was hidden by a bright overcast of clouds, occasionally playing peekaboo, warming their faces for a moment before concealing itself again. A crisp breeze disturbed the quiet by rattling the vegetation above them.

"So does a medic of some weird sorts live out here in the middle of God knows where?" Mariko asked her voice snippy.

Itachi rubbed the back of his neck and untangled a stray strand of hair caught between his fingers. "I guess you could call her that..."

Mariko harrumphed behind him.

Itachi cleared his throat. "We are actually really close now, but we need to pick up the pace if we want to get there by nightfall."

Mariko groaned "have you forgotten I'm like half your size? I have short legs...I'm having trouble keeping up as it is."

Itachi smirked. "I thought you were a shinobi."

"Shut your mouth..."

His smirk bloomed into a smile. Despite his first impression, maybe she had actually changed very little over the years. She hadn't grown an inch and aside from the light curve at her waist, she was still just as skinny as she was when she was a girl. She had grown her golden brown hair from a short bob to a waist length mane which and kept the sides pinned up under the crown of her head by a red ribbon. Even covered in perspiration her tawny skin was far from unappealing.

Itachi's thoughts were interrupted and he stopped short. "It was a lot closer than I remembered." He pointed to a shack in the distance.

A soft orange light emanated from its broken dusty windows. Vines had weaved themselves in and out of the foundation and mortar, it's long reach embracing the crumbling building tightly that Itachi was sure that it would fall apart if they decided to let go.

"Does someone live in that thing?" Mariko asked as they stood there staring.

"Yes. Her name is Fukiyo."

They started walking down the trail once more towards the house. "What medic in their right mind would live there?"

Itachi chuckled under his breath. "I guess medic isn't the most...accurate term after all."

They walked up creaking steps and up to the door, which may have once been blue, but was now rusted and covered with so much dust Mariko couldn't be sure what color it was.

"What would you call her then..." She muttered.

Itachi looked over at her and tilted his head slightly. "Most people would call her a 'witch'."

Mariko whipped her head around, eyes wide. "A what?"

They both leapt back just as the door fell down with a loud, wood splintering crash.

"What are you two thugs doing here?! Here to take my PRICELESS artifacts eh?" An old woman, who was even shorter in stature than Mariko, stomped over the debris and shoved a large crossbow in their faces. "Well you can't have 'em! Now prepare yourselves for-"

"Fukiyo, please! It's Itachi..." he shouted, trying to keep humor out of his voice.

The elderly woman paused and adjusted her comically large spectacles. "Well hello there, dear!" She said loudly. Mariko jumped to one side as she carelessly dropped her weapon.

"Isn't this just a happy surprise?" She waddled a bit closer to him. "Come here, come here, and let me get a good look at you!"

Itachi bent down so she could reach. She held his head in her soft soap smelling hands and he couldn't help the small smile still lingering on his face.

"Ah still just as handsome as ever." She patted his cheeks with wrinkly fingers.

She leaned away and put her hands on her hips. "Now I still haven't forgiven you for visiting Nekobaa more than me. That crazy cat lady, sister of mine always gets all the attention with her shiny weapons..." She smiled and waggled a finger at him. "But at least you're here now and I can make you some nice tea."

She looked over at Mariko as if she had forgotten she was even there to begin with. Her head then darted back and forth as she looked between the two.

"Who's this dame?" Fukiyo inquired, jabbing her thumb in Mariko's direction

A few introductions, explanations, and a makeshift door were made and Itachi and Mariko were led into small parlor. Red beaded tapestries were strung up wall to wall. Colorful scarves hung from the ceiling, giving the building a tent like feel. Dusty knick knacks, charts, maps, plants and various other items took up every inch of space.

They carefully followed Fukiyo through the path that weaved through her junk.

Mariko's hair raised as something furry brushed up against her leg. She grabbed Itachi's arm roughly. "You brought me to a crazy old broad who thinks she is a witch? How is she supposed to help me?"

"Relax." He shrugged off her hand easily, "I was only kidding about the witch thing...kind of. Others call her a witch. I never said she thought she was one."

The old woman motioned them over and sat them down at a small round table. Alright, no need t'beat around the bush. The tea can wait. I already know why you're here." Her large eyes looked Mariko over, scrutinizing every detail of her person.

Mariko raised an eyebrow and one corner of her mouth pulled down slightly. She was gradually feeling more and more uncomfortable.

"And how would you know that exactly?"

"That thing on your hand, it's pretty hard to hide." Fukiyo shrugged as if that were explanation enough.

"What exactly-"

Itachi, looking very serious, raised her hand to silence her. She blushed, furious at being ordered like a child, but complied.

Fukiyo stared at her for a moment more, and then scooted forward so far their noses almost touched. Mariko held her breath, uneasy under her heavy gaze. She was immediately started worrying if her breath smelled.

Mariko looked at Itachi out of the corner of her eye and he nodded in encouragement.

With shaking hands, Fukiyo pressed withered finger tips to Mariko's forehead. Her fingers were cold but sweaty at the same time. The old woman slowly started moving her fingertips down her face, her own face becoming more disgruntled; mouth pressed into a line; eyebrows pulled together.

Mariko resisted the urge to cringe. Was she doomed for eternity to deal with crazy people? Witches, murderers, and shark men; just a day in the life of Mariko. Nothing weird here. Nope.

Fukiyo had made her way to her shoulders, upper arms, but when she made it to the crook of her arm she started to shutter.

Mariko's eyes widened, the sarcasm in her mind came to a sudden stop. Her heart rate picked up and she had the urge to lean away from her but she didn't dare move. What is this? Was granny having a heart-attack?

Breath catching in her throat, Fukiyo kept feeling her way down, slower but still persistent. Finally her left hand reached one of the green veins trailing from the mark on Mariko's hand and reeled back, crying out as if she had been burnt.

Mariko stood, knocking over her chair. She backed a few steps, shocked and gripping her wrist tightly. She glanced over at Itachi, who had risen to his feet as well.

Fukiyo still stared at her, her face white and wary. She panted and dabbed her face with a rag she pulled out her pocket as she stood and quickly started rummaging through books on a dirty shelf.

Mariko rubbed her sweaty hands on her pant legs as Itachi walked over and stood next to her.

"What in the world did you drag me into?" She muttered under her breath.

Itachi ignored her and just watched the witch rummaged through her things, throwing junk and encyclopedia volumes behind her as she went. Her delving caused dust to spin and dance in the air, occasional particles catching the light and making sparkles.

Fukiyo paused, put on a different pair of glasses and squinted at a book she brought close to her face, her large greasy nose grazing the cover before holding it in the air triumphantly. "Ah." She said giving it a shake. "Here it is."

She walked back over to the table and slammed a large yellowed book down, motioning them over once again with her boney fingers.

Itachi walked over but Mariko hesitated, still gripping her wrist tightly, as if hoping if she cut off all circulation it would stop pestering her. She wouldn't be too upset if it just fell off.

"Come here kid." Fukiyo said, firmly.

Mariko hesitantly obliged and walked over slowly. She took a place standing next to Fukiyo.

The book looked old as dirt itself, with rusted hinges and a flakey leather cover. Mariko imagined it smelled either like an old office or like urine. She didn't really want to find out.

Fukiyo opened it up to a marked spot and flipped a few pages.

"I'm going to assume that the both of you, being ninjas, know a great deal about Chakra" she stated as she flipped through pages. She stopped on one in particular and placed her finger on the illustration. "But what do you two know about the paranormal?"

Mariko blinked then let out a breath of very loud frustration, a noise similar to that of a steaming teapot. "You're joking right? You have got to be kidding me!" A fiery pit of anger balled up in her throat. She didn't bother swallowing it. She let it fester there. She wanted to scream. This shriveled prune was telling ghosts stories while she had some kind of growth that was poisoning her blood for all she knew.

"No, no, now just listen, girl." Fukiyo insisted, looking up at her from the top of her glasses.

She started summarizing the page of the book before Mariko could protest.

"When a ninja learns to manipulate chakra, his power greatly increases.

There are, however, spirits who take advantage of that." She pointed to a small illustration in the upper corner of the page; a wispy character was illustrated with a large open mouth chasing some unlucky soul. "Though extremely rare, there are some spirits in existence that feed off of negative energies. If a ninja strays from the path of goodness to feed his own selfish desires, a spirit will sometimes latch onto this person's chakra, growing more and more fearsome."

Fukiyo took a raspy breath then continued. "This can also happen when someone experiences something particularly distressing, has regular malicious intent, or is regularly depressed or angry. These spirits can form a symbiotic relationship with their hosts. At times, the person can shake the spirit if they retake control of their mindset and or morals."

Fukiyo pointed to another illustration on the yellowed pages; a generic figure drawing with black spots on all of the vital chakra points.

"It has been said that when a spirit is persistently stalking a person, and that person obtains an injury, the spirit will pour a curse into the open wound that starts destroying the person from the inside out; Poisoning you so strongly mentally that even your physical state starts to deteriorate."

She stopped to compose herself once more, her eyes scanning the sentences. "To cut this long story short, the spirit will continue to poison you, body and mind in hopes that it can take full control of your body...essentially killing you..."

A small stifling pause, the other two stared at Mariko, waiting for her to say something.

Oh she had plenty to say.

Mariko threw her hands into the air and shook her head, snickering humorlessly at the ridiculousness of it all. "This..." She slapped her hands on the table, rattling it and knocking over a ceramic cow. "Is ridiculous..."

Fukiyo held her hand out to her as if the hold Mariko's "I know this is a lot to take in..."

"A lot to take in? This...what you're talking about...is impossible. It's ludicrous!" She leaned back up, shaking. "This isn't some sort of mystical game. I didn't come here to have my palm read or...or to have a tarot card session. I came here because I thought that you could help me." She stormed her way to the door.

"Mariko..." Itachi started.

"And you..." She jabbed a finger at Itachi. "This is entirely your fault..."

She stomped out of the shack, the whole foundation shaking as she did.

Itachi sighed, and blinked as more dust and dirt fell from the ceiling. He looked at the old woman. A few silent moments passed.

Mariko was a whirlwind, turning everything upside down with her spirit and animated attitude. Her subtle passion about the world was evident even when she didn't speak a word; even when she was frightened.

"Well, I guess you can relay the rest of the information." Fukiyo said adjusting her glasses once more.

She looked sad. Itachi felt sad for her. Who knew the last time she had had visitors. And now that she had them, they were much less than pleasant. Itachi made a mental note to pop in more than once every year or so.

Fukiyo cleared her throat with a watery cough. "There is an old wise sage who has been living and meditating on Namida Mountain for decades. He has learned to commune with chakra spirits. He can help you, I know it. He has dealt with this type of thing many times."

"How do you know?" Itachi asked.

Fukiyo smiled and winked, "Let's just say him and I have gotten along very, very well over the years."

Itachi grimaced and Fukiyo chuckled quietly.

She flipped to the back of the book and out slid another sheet of yellowed paper.

"This map will lead you right to him. It shouldn't be too difficult to get there."

Itachi took it from her with a nod of thanks.

Fukiyo rubbed her temples and sighed. "Listen, I didn't know whether to tell her this outright or not, but, this curse is going to be very hard to get rid of." she pressed her mouth together. "From what you've told me, she has 12 days to purge herself."

Itachi looked at her shocked. "12 days?"

She nodded, "12 days to get rid of it, or she will experience something even worse than dying."

Mariko picked her ear up from the door and backed away quietly.

She walked with dragging feet and put a small distance between herself and the house. She found a large tree and sank down, resting her aching back against the trunk and placing her weary head on her knees.

12 days?

12 days.

What was she supposed to do? Was she just supposed to believe that crazy old bat?

Her inner thoughts battled one another as she sat on the damp ground, her head spinning. She rocked slightly like a mental patient, the dampness soaked through to her skin. Why was this happening to her? Why Itachi? Why now? Why could she not remember the last couple of days? Even if she couldn't trust them, especially Itachi, what else was she supposed to do?

The questions piled onto more questions, the mound becoming higher and higher. She was becoming lost beneath its shadow.

Mariko knew he had walked up but she wasn't sure when.

"It's raining." He said pointedly.

She made a disgusted noise through her nose that reminded her of her teenage self. "I know."

"You know you have a hood on that thing for a reason." Gesturing towards her hoodie as he sat next to her, pulling up the collar of his coat to shield more of the rain.

The rain came down heavier. The splatter of a million droplets making a symphony of pattering taps and clinks.

"What do you want to do?" Itachi asked, looking up at the dark cloudy sky through the tree branches.

"Oh, so you're finally asking me what I want. Well, I want to go see a doctor." She turned her face away, pushed her dripping bangs out of her eyes. "And not a witch doctor...a real one."

She heard him inhale slowly and release it out of his mouth. Silence; Then a muttered fine.

Itachi looked up as she rose to her feet, blinking water droplets out of his eyes. "What? Does that bother you?" She crossed her arms.

"There is a town north of here." He stood up and mimicked her, crossing his arms over his chest and looking down at her pointedly. "There is a doctor there. But if we are going there we're going to have to be quick. And we must leave right now." He arched his eyebrows. "You'll have to not be a baby and keep up with me."

She huffed. "I can keep up with you just fine." She looked out at the dark forest, placing her hands on her hips. When she looked back at him she noticed Him shouldering one of the modest brown knapsacks and holding the other in hand, both now fat with the things stored inside. Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. "Why are you in such a hurry anyways?"

"I have my reasons." He said, his face blank, but Mariko could see that his mind was on something else.

"I'm guessing you still aren't going to show me the way to the leaf village?" She said as she knelt to tighten her boots.

"If you're so set on going back, why can't you find your own way? You don't need my help." He said as he zipped up his jacket a little tighter.

"Because I don't know where I am."

"You're a ninj-"

"Whatever. Just stop." She retorted hotly.

He looked at her. He looked at her with such intensity as if he were trying to discover her innermost thoughts. Mariko would've been more comfortable if his sharingan were activated, then those endless black eyes wouldn't be making her uncomfortable in her own skin. She felt heat creep into her neck and looked at the ground.

"Well, let's get going then." Without another word he took off at full speed, leaping through the trees.

Her heart jumped into her throat at the thought of being left behind and she chased after him, her boots slipping slightly on the wet leaves underfoot.


	3. Day 2

DAY 2

Mariko and Itachi traveled relentlessly for the remainder of the night and well into the next morning before they caught sight of the town.

When they finally stopped at the edge of the city, Mariko saw that it was modern and full of life. Behind its modest walls, the people were shuffling past one another, hurriedly striving to get to their various destinations, looking like a messy trail of ants.

Mariko put her hands on her knees, struggling to control her panting, her sides burning. She had kept her word and managed to keep up with her chaperone of sorts, but her heart was near exploding and her bones felt like they were made of rubber as they struggled to keep her upright.

She looked up at Itachi standing next to her and saw that he barely appeared winded. He was standing with his hands in his pockets, a bored expression on his face as he took in the city scene. She blushed; embarrassed that she was putting up such a spectacle when he was so composed.

Standing to her full height, she adjusted her clothing, wiped the shiny sweat from her forehead, and strode into the town with oversized steps and with her head held high, pretending that she wasn't drowning on air and not bothering to look to see if Itachi was following. She was determined to appear independent. She could ask for directions to the hospital if he decided not to follow after her.

The bustling crowds made it hard for Mariko to make her way through. Standing at a shocking four feet and nine inches, she was shorter than most, and she couldn't really tell where she was headed.

She tried to think snake like thoughts as she attempted to slither in between the pedestrians. Panic pressed into her throat when she couldn't see through all the backs and shoulders of all of the passer-byers. The rumble of talking and scraping shoes on cement made her ears ring. A man nearby waved to someone he knew and laughed so loud she nearly jumped out of her skin.

She felt a hand on her shoulder.

Whipping around with wide wild animal eyes, she saw a man with a stocky build looking down at her with a smile that was anything but kind. He gripped her too tight, fingers digging into her skin and she smelled alcohol on his breath.

"Isn't it a little dangerous for such a pretty little girl like you to be..."he belched. "...walking around alone at such a busy time?" He purred at her in a poor excuse for flirting, his words slurred. The odor of his breath made her head swim.

"Isn't it a little early to be completely wasted?" She said roughly jerking out from underneath his grasp, her lips creeping up in a nasty glare. She wiped the spot where his fingers had been and hoped a trace of his stench wouldn't stay on her clothes.

He laughed. "Come on, don't be like that." He reached for her again. She ducked under his arm, clenched her fist, and sent it flying into the man's abdomen.

He doubled over and let out a bellow of a groan. As she got ready to send a knee into his face when someone grabbed her waist and spun her around, quickly dragging her away.

"What do you think you're doing?" She ripped her hand away from Itachi. "I had him taken care of! I didn't need to be rescued."

"I didn't want you drawing attention to yourself. You were making a scene." The words came out in an impatient sigh.

" _I_ was making a scene!?"

He stepped behind her and pressed a hand to the small of her back, guiding her and losing themselves in the crowd before the man could recover. She squirmed at his touch but let him continue to guide her, secretly grateful for the help.

"Beating a lonely drunk to a pulp isn't exactly a grand accomplishment. Just take a break from being so uptight until we make it to the hospital." He muttered, craning his neck as he looked around.

"Uptight..." She grumbled, rolling her eyes.

The doctor's office was nearly empty so she didn't have to wait very long. The middle-aged kindly doctor searched her head to foot, stuck her with large and small needles and wrote on some technical looking charts and still couldn't place what her ailment was. He didn't even have an idea. They took some final tests and told her to wait a few days to get the results and to come back if it starts to spread. Mariko resisted the urge to trash the place in her frustration, her desperation for answers making her a stranger in her own actions.

She walked down to the bottom floor, defeated, trudging down the stairs with a tired, sluggish gait, watching her feet slap the off white, slightly stained steps.

Itachi was waiting for her on the bottom floor, looking out of place but just as under excited as ever in one of the worn out waiting room chairs.

It had taken the rest of the day to run tests and now it was deep into the night. A few couples and rowdy teenagers were now the only ones hanging around or walking down the streets. Groups all enjoyed each other's company and the rest of summer without a care. Laughter and warmth was so thick in the atmosphere that you could reach out and feel it with your fingers.

They ignored the happiness surrounding them. The glumness of a day wasted had created a giant depressing bubble around Itachi and Mariko. They didn't question its presence.

After walking another few paces, a warm restaurant beckoned them with decadent smells, light pinging of silver and china, and a lull of quiet chatter.

Mariko and Itachi's stomachs both growled noisily in unison as they stared at the establishment.

Their eyes darted towards each other and Itachi looked at her with a small playful smirk, a pleasant flicker in his eyes. Mariko's cheeks turned pink and she shoved her bangs out of her face as she looked away.

"So...I guess we should eat huh?"

"That might be the best idea you've had so far." He said, and then he playfully nudged her with his elbow. "It might be the only good idea you've had."

Afraid she would laugh if she said anything, Mariko just snorted in mock aggravation.

As they walked in, Mariko realized that she couldn't even remember the last time she had eaten. Literally.

She put a hand over her already gaunt tummy and felt herself withering away the longer they waited on their food to be prepared.

She had ordered korokke, her favorite. Her eyes automatically sought it out or found something similar whenever she decided to eat out, which was more often than not.

When the waitress brought their order to their table, her mouth watered at the smell of the fried food.

After she carefully savored the taste and texture of the first bite she proceeded to inhale the next couple dozen bites before she saw Itachi eyeing her.

"What?" She said tartly with both cheeks inelegantly stuffed.

He raised his dark eyebrows, pressed his mouth into a line, and shook his head. "Nothing." And resumed to politely poke at his plate.

She felt judged. She widened her eyes slightly to emphasize her seriousness. "Hey. I'm starving and I love food." She shoved a few more pieces in. "especially fried food."

They ate the rest of their meal in silence. Each one was silently enjoying his or her own food and losing themselves in their own thoughts.

Their tired and obviously overworked server dropped off the check with a mumbled, half hearted invitation to come again.

"I can pay for mine." Mariko started digging in her pockets as Itachi got up from his seat.

"No need. Fukiyo gave us plenty money." He held out an envelope full of cash discretely before he walked away.

Mariko sat there with her mouth opened and speechless. Why would she give them money? Was she really that nice of a person?

She tried to talk herself down as she downed the rest of her water glass. She was a hermit. Did she even use money? She probably just had it sitting around gathering dust with all of her other old person stuff.

Mariko quickly gave up trying to rationalize it any other way than it being a straight up act of kindness and sighed, chewing on the inside of her cheek. She was so rude to Fukiyo, and she had given her nothing but compassion. An unorthodox, unwanted type of compassion, but compassion.

Someone bumped into the table, shaking the whole thing violently. Rolled up papers flew about in the air, scattering everywhere. Mariko blinked rapidly, stunned.

A dirty looking kid leapt up from the floor and frantically dusted off his clothes. "Oh! I'm sorry ma'am." The boy said. "I was in a hurry to get back to work." His voice reminded Mariko of squeaking shoes on a freshly mopped tile floor.

The little boy started picking up the papers. His grubby fingers clutched the documents too tightly, crinkling them.

Mariko bent down to help him, her knees yelling at her in exhaustion, protesting crankily.

She picked up a couple of papers and stored them under her arms before she spotted one unrolled under her seat. Her eyes darted across it quickly and realized that it was a map. She froze for a moment before unrolling one of the papers she was holding, unashamed of her snooping. All of these were detailed maps of the entire land of fire.

An idea struck her. She looked over her shoulder. Itachi was nowhere in sight. A small smile crept up on her face as she mulled over her scheme. She could go home. She didn't need anyone's help. She could find her way home on her own and get some real help, as opposed to following some missing-nin on a bizarre wild goose chase that he could only assumed he orchestrated for a sick kick.

"Um...Do you sell these" She asked the kid as they gathered his maps, trying to appear nonchalant.

The child flashed Mariko his shockingly gapped teeth in an enthused grin. "Yeah lady!" He picked up the last of the maps and zipped them in his tube shaped bag. "If you follow me I'll take you to my booth! We have all kinds of maps and atlases there."

Still smiling to herself and her own cleverness, she followed him out of the restaurant without a second thought.

The streets were near deserted now; the only sound a lone cricket that could be heard under a bench as they passed by, calling to his brethren in the outside forest.

With the moon being a no show, the street lamps periodically staggered along the roadway were left uninterrupted in their glow and bathed the concrete and dirt below in orange light.

The boy was chattering the whole way only pausing when he tripped over his own feet. He relentlessly talked about his family, friends, and hobbies. Mariko wasn't really listening but threw in an oh really? Or a wow that's cool to keep from appearing completely heartless.

The farther away they got, the more she kept looking over her shoulder; each time expecting to see Itachi behind her with that horrid sharingan boring into her.

"Here, lady!" The little boy had run ahead and was now pointing down an alley.

Mariko walked briskly over and looked down his arm to the direction he was pointing. It was pitch black. The walkway seemed to swallow all light that dared cross its path.

"Come on!" The little boy said with an enthusiastic giggle before sprinting down the alleyway.

"Wait!" She called out. She took a step into the back street and she froze. Something was off. She chewed on a loose hang nail, hesitating for a moment.

Swallowing, she slowly started making her way down the path. The darkness enveloped her.

The hairs on her skin began to stick up like a wild mongrel's hackles. Every step she took became more and more uncertain.

She let out a breath in relief when the boy came into her line of vision. "To be honest I thought you had abandoned me." She said with a smile. "I gotta say kid; this doesn't look like the...safest place. Who exactly do you work for?"

The boy paused before grabbing her hand and looking up at her sweetly. "Here, I'll show you." He began to lead her. "It's not much farther. Don't feel bad. I used to be afraid of the dark too!"

"Stop."

Another intense wave of shocking cold ran up Mariko's spine. The child and her both spun around. Itachi stood at the entrance to the alleyway, his sharingan bright red and threatening.

"Oh, why don't you just butt out?" The child snarled. Mariko looked down at him, shocked by the sudden change of tone and just the sheer wickedness of it. He gripped Mariko's hand tighter, his dirty fingernails scraping into her skin.

"She said she wants to go home, and I can help, unlike YOU." He pointed an accusing finger at him before looking back up at her.

"Who are you going to trust? Me or murderers like him?" He glared at Itachi.

Mariko's mouth opened then shut again in confusion. Her brow furrowed. "Wait, you don't even know him. How do you know he-"

In a split second the child changed gears again and became frantic, clawing up her arms, leaving fleshy pink trails. "Please!" He yanked her down by her arm roughly. "He slaughtered children like me!" Mariko winced as his nails tore her skin. She instinctively tried to pull out of his manic pulling. A panicked shriek threatened to project from her throat.

"Let go of her." Itachi commanded in calm authority. As he did, thousands of crows came out of his opened palm. They flew out at break neck speed and started flocking towards the child, attacking him with a flurry of furious pecks.

The boy released her and wrenched back screaming at the top of his lungs. The sound assaulted Mariko's ear drums like a firecracker. The boy futilely slapped at the glossy black birds that only seemed to grow in numbers.

Mariko's stomach clenched and she felt like upheaving the food she had crammed into her system. "No!" She shrieked reaching with both hands for the boy, frantic to help him. "Stop it, Itachi! He's just a kid! You're hurting him!"

"Don't touch it!" Itachi yelled, his normally composed voice cracking just the tiniest bit.

Her marked hand had almost reached through the crows when a low gurgling sound erupted from amidst them.

"What..." She drew back, her eyes widened in confusion; her fear throttling the air from her throat. The birds were dissolving and a large black form was bubbling where the boy was. It was a mass of chaos; a distorted smile here, a grotesquely plump hand there, all revolving and changing over this bubbly tar. The boy was devolving and becoming something else entirely.

"Mariko!" Itachi called to her. "Move!"

She barely heard him over the buzzing in her ears. She felt herself sink to her knees, rocks and dirt scraping her skin. She looked up in a frozen state of horror at the figure looming over her. Her brain tried to process what she was seeing.

The figure was...darkness. It wasn't just black; it was complete and utter absence of light itself. Malicious. The darkness formed itself into a vague form of a behemoth. It had grotesquely long arms and legs; the rest was just a big dark mass of space with what seemed to be covered all over with flowing, tattered, transparent pieces of dark cloth. The only thing which seemed to be truly solidified was the massive bird skull that covered what would be the figures head.

This was the embodiment of evil.

This was a demon.

Mariko opened her mouth in a silent scream. She cowered lower, willing herself to merge into the earth below. She kept trying to force sound from her windpipe* to no avail, a vein straining in her throat. The heels of her hands pressed into her skull.

The figure bent closer to her face, the tip of the beak nearly touching her chin.

"Fire style...fireball jutsu..."

A giant sphere of flames suddenly flew past her, singeing her pants.

Her eyes darted towards Itachi, the source of light. When she looked back the demon was gone. An echo of laughter the only evidence of what had just occurred before that too faded to nothing.

She couldn't move. She could barely breathe. She sat there in the dark alleyway shaken to her very soul. Tears poured down her cheeks.

Itachi was in front of her in an instant. "Get. Up." He snarled between his teeth. When she didn't move fast enough, he grabbed her under the arm and hoisted her to her feet, then proceeded to half drag her out of the ally roughly. She didn't protest. She could only feel the relief from the absence of that thing.

She couldn't quite get a lungful of air. She sucked in one sweet breath at a time, her throat raw from straining.

When they were once again under the safety of the street lamps, he propelled her out of his grasp. Mariko stumbled for a few steps before catching herself on a bench on the opposite side of the road, away from the alley.

Itachi stomped up to her, and motioned behind him with a jerk of his arm. "Care to explain what that was?" He asked, fuming.

Mariko hands gripped the edge of the wooden back of the seat. She tripped over her words. Her tongue and stomach tied in knots. "I-I don't know. I just..."

"Just what?" Itachi clenched and unclenched his fists. Veins popped out on the tops of his hands. "You were going to give up before you even started. Are you wanting to let that thing take over you?" he jerked a thumb behind him. "Do you want to let that thing kill you from the inside out?" He pointed to her hand forcefully. "And don't look at me like that. I know you were listening at the door back at Fukiyo's. You know what I'm talking about."

Mariko dug her heels into the dirt, her courage starting to simmer back to the surface. Finally he was acting like he should be. Good. She was sick of his kind façade. Still feeling the burn from his iron grip on her elbow, she rubbed it discreetly before clearing her throat. "I wasn't going to give up. I just...I just couldn't move. I don't know."

He stepped close and put his hands on her shoulders. She flinched away in fear and he softened his touch, but kept a firm grip. "You could die, Mariko. You have to get ahold of your emotions!" He tilted his head down to her level and looked at her through his eyebrows.

She flung his arms off and shoved him away, barely causing him to move an inch. "Why do you care?" she spread her arms wide. "Why are you even doing this?" Her voice betrayed her emotion. She was so confused. She didn't understand why this was happening. What bothered her even more is she could not, no matter how much she mulled it over, figure out why he was hanging around.

"Because I couldn't have just abandoned you."

He answered so quickly and without any hesitation and it enraged her. It didn't make any sense.

She laughed without humor, "Yes you could have. But you didn't." She pointed a still shaking finger. "And I intend to find out what your real motive is."

Both still cross with each other they made their way through the town until they finally stumbled out upon a hotel.

Mariko wanted to sigh from relief. But she made a promise to herself to remain silent for the remainder of the night, as if Itachi knowing she was pissed would change anything.

The inside was warm and inviting; traditional but very tidy and clean looking. An old lady, who looked like one of those stern great aunts who made everyone go to bed at five p.m., waved them over enthusiastically.

Just assuming that they wanted a room she started writing in a big book. "We've been so busy lately!" The old woman at the counter said. "What with all the festivals in the surrounding villages, so many passing through we've barely had any room, but I have something left." She passed a key across the counter and itachi placed his palm over it with a muted thud

. "I'm sorry I don't have a bigger room for such a young lovely couple." She smiled sincerely with wrinkled lips.

Itachi pretended to be interested at something on the ceiling then turned toward Mariko with a lazy shrug. "It's better than sleeping on the ground, and it might be awhile before we are able to sleep comfortably again."

She bristled, jerked her chin up, and took a couple steps away from him.

Itachi sighed wearily. "You see, we are not a couple, ma'am." He slipped his hands into his jacket pockets. "You don't have any other rooms?"

"Oh. No I'm afraid not." The old woman straightened her back. "I hope you two aren't prudish, and if you are, you best get over it or go buy a couple of tents."

It was well after midnight when Itachi awoke to quiet screams of terror but he wasn't alarmed. Once again he crawled out of his bedding, his body objecting. He carefully stepped around the fragile room separating apparatus that Mariko had set up. It was just a sheet held up by a few heavy items and shelves that had already been in the room.

Itachi walked over to Mariko, who was thrashing about wildly in her sleep, her arms making shuddering movements, legs tense as if about to run straight off her bed. This was the third time tonight. No doubt the demon tormented her in her dreams.

"Mariko..." He muttered. She didn't wake up.

He knelt next to her, placing a hand on her shoulder and shook it gently. "Mariko."

Her eyes flew open wildly, her chest heaved with panicked breaths.

Sighing in exasperation, he squeezed her shoulder. "The nightmares can't hurt you. You're going to wake the whole building with all that-"

He was cut off by her mouth on his. Mariko kissed him hungrily and desperately. Both of her hands gripped the back of his head and neck. Her fingers wove themselves into the tangles of his hair.

Itachi was drawn into kiss instantly. He didn't pause, he wasn't wary. He let his guard down and kissed her back.

They kissed as if they had kissed a thousand times in a thousand different lives.

She was awaking sensations in him that he had long since forgotten and put away for good. His heart was close to bursting. Placing both hands on either side of her head, he parted her lips with his, kissing her deeper. The taste of her sent a tremor down his back.

He slid one hand down the curve of her spine and pulled her closer to him.

Mariko abruptly slowed her kissing, let go of his neck, and when Itachi pulled back he was shocked to see her sleeping once more, wearing a blank face of peace.

He leaned back and rested on his knees, his heart still racing. "What just happened here?" He asked no one, wiping her saliva off his mouth.

Guilt and fire hot humiliation crept into his throat. He felt his entire face turn red. She was asleep the entire time, wasn't she? Why had she done that? _Why_ had she done _that_?

Straightening up, he started pacing, too worked up to sit down and way too worked up to go back to sleep.

He hadn't been imagining all those feelings. He thought that he had been helping her to relieve himself of some of the guilt that plagued him. It was deeper than that. And it was more than just carnal attraction.

He was startled when his thoughts went back to Izumi. Furious that he was being assaulted with memories of her, he tried to suppress them, but they pushed through his defenses anyways.

They both had once cared deeply about each other, but he knew that he could have never really loved her no matter what their parents and friends had expected from him. She loved him though; there was no denying that...until he killed her like a common enemy.

Izumi had been confused for just a moment before he unleashed his tsukuyomi. He did it without hesitating. He had made it as painless as possible for her.

He didn't even do that for his own parents.

He let out a shuddering breath and finally returned to his side of the room, collapsing on his mat roughly. He put a hand on his head, forcing himself not to think about that day. He mentally switched subjects.

Long ago, for what seems like decades, he told himself that he would never fall in love. He wouldn't allow it. He wouldn't even get close to anything near love. He would never risk polluting another soul by joining it with his own. And he was determined to keep it that way.

He observed the trees swaying out the window as the first rays of morning broke through the darkness.

Why had he kissed her back?


	4. Silver Lining

BEFORE

TAMA

"There." She broke the thread off with her teeth. "That should do it. Good as new!"

She looked up at her husband lovingly. She had told him time and time again to replace that old hoe, but he wouldn't listen. And now he had stitches in his left foot.

She sighed quietly through her nose as she stored her tools away in her chest of drawers. Oh well. Now wasn't the time to nag.

She patted Makoto's slumped shoulder twice before leaving him to brood over his injury and sake.

The fall was always the most stressful time for their now small family. They had to be sure they had plenty of crops to sell and eat before winter snuck up on them.

The first winter they had been married, it seemed they had barely made it. The ground had been unyielding.

Despite of how hard it was, Tama smiled at the memory. They had been so close that year. And they had made it. Her father was wrong. They were together and in love and that's all that mattered.

Not only that but now they had their child.

Tama quietly slipped into the baby's room. She paused for a moment to listen to her breath deeply in sleep.

Tama smiled. The baby was only a couple of days old and slept like a log.

Still feeling so weak from the ordeal of getting her here, Tama gently eased herself into the rocking chair in the corner. Everything seemed to be so perfect now. Sure Makoto was stressed and she took notice of how much even the little things now bothered him.

Who wouldn't be with a new baby, a wife who while in recovery couldn't help with the farming?

As soon as they all got adjusted, then everything really would be perfect.


	5. Day 3

DAY 3

Mariko awoke feeling more refreshed than she normally would. Her eyes were bright as opposed to being shadowed by deep purple under eye bags.

She was far from being a morning person. In fact, whenever morning people had the guts to cross her path, she sometimes made it a hobby to day dream about them contracting leprosy or whatever disease suited her fancy that day. The kind of people who push their off-key singing voices onto others usually had some kind of stab wound involved as well.

She sat up from the top firm bed and stretched her spine by reaching up to the ceiling. She stretched each vertebra slowly and carefully, listening to her joint pop.

Walking over to the nearest window, she looked out and marveled at the glittering dew that covered every inch of the earth in tiny diamonds. A few wispy clouds dotted the deep blue sky and when she slid open the glass pane the breeze caressed Mariko's face softly causing a hint of a smile to ease itself onto her lips.

She leaned backwards, the heels of her hands resting against the window sill, and tilted her head back. She took in the freshness of the air with closed eyes for a few moments before standing to her full height with a light groan.

Itachi was still asleep on the floor when she peeked around the hanging sheet. His inky black hair was splayed out around him wildly, one stray dust bunny tangled into the long strands. Another lock of hair, coated in saliva, was stuck to his upper lip. His mouth was slack in his unconsciousness and he snored quietly. The sound brought Mariko the memory of her cat, purring contentedly on her sunny windowsill.

She would've snickered if she wasn't so scared of him. Not to mention the danger that she felt breathing down her neck. Well...technically it was crawling up her arm.

Though he did look like a completely different person while asleep. He looked youthful, less somber.

Giving her head a shake she walked over and kicked his foot lightly. "Hey, we gotta get going, we slept in." When he grunted without moving, she kicked his foot again, harder.

He grumbled incoherently before opening heavy lids. She took note of the crust that had taken up residence in the corners of his eyes. It was the small details that reminded her that he actually was human, despite popular belief.

"You look awful." She stated with a preppy flip of her hair before turning on her heel and striding to the other side of the room where she proceeded to pack her stuff haphazardly, stuffing everything inelegantly into her bag.

"If I do it's your fault, princess." He huffed as he got up and popped his joints, wincing at the sound.

She peeked over and clicked her tongue. "It's not my fault you're ugly."

He glared, daring her to push his buttons.

Her chest squeezed momentarily in alarm but she quickly hid it with annoyance. She pursed her lips "Sorry to shock you with such a revelation."

She knew she was being an immature ass. She couldn't help it. It was better to be an ass then let her vulnerability surface for all to see.

He set his jaw and started packing up his belongings as well, a great deal more organized than she packed hers.

"Do you remember last night?" He asked suddenly.

Her head snapped up, eyes wide. Her mind instantly raced through a hundred different conclusions, all over the top and the worst stuff she could imagine. Anxiety at its finest.

"What happened last night?" she blurted, her alarmed tone escaping her throats before she could catch it.

He zipped up his bag before standing to his feet and walking to her side of the room, stooping to go under the sheet. "You woke me up with your screaming. Three different times." His tone was a smidge more placid than before.

Bending back down over her bag, she let her hair fall into her face, trying to hide her embarrassment. "Oh...sorry. I've been known to talk in my sleep." a moment of silence passed. She pushed her bangs out of her eyes. "I see the spirit in my sleep." She said it matter-of-factly, like it was normal, which it wasn't. "I've actually been dreaming about it for weeks...I just didn't know what it was."

He sighed as he started to pull his hair up and out of his face. "I guessed as much."

She watched him. She could feel the weariness in her own expression. This stress was making her skin sag prematurely, she was sure of it.

"Itachi?"

He glanced up at her sharply, looking surprised at her tone or at her acknowledgment of him by name.

"I believe Fukiyo now." She wrapped her arms around herself, tensing up her shoulders and giving a little shiver. She was always cold lately.

"This thing," she shook her marked hand, "isn't a normal wound and it keeps growing." She felt tears prick her eyes and blinked them away. She wasn't used to crying so much. Though she figure the constant threat of being possessed or murdered by a ghost gave her a free emotional pass.

"I knew deep down, I think, from the beginning she was right, even before that encounter with the spirit. It just sounded so crazy that..."

Itachi was nodding in simple understanding before she even finished so she let her sentence trail off. After a moment, he dug into his large brown bag until he pulled out worn out piece of paper, which turned out to be a map, and the large old book.

Walking over next to her, too close for her to be comfortable, he knelt and flattened the map onto the bed. She crouched down for a better look. Itachi pointed to one spot on the bottom corner of the page.

"This is where we are now." He traced his long finger nearly all the way across the page. "This is where we are trying to get to."

Mariko's heart sank and she involuntarily grabbed her marked arm. "That's...that's so far."

"It's really not as far as it seems." He said with a dismissive wave. She couldn't tell if he was just lying for her sake. He probably was.

"Fukiyo said that an ancient sage lives up in these mountains. One that specializes in chakra spirits." Itachi looked up at her. "It's our best chance to fix this." He pointed to her arm. "But as you know, we only have a few days..."

Mariko snatched the map and book up off the mattress from underneath his hands, accidentally tearing a tiny corner of it, and threw it into her bag and fastened it up in one fluid motion. "What are we waiting for, let's get going." She said curtly.

She felt clammy and flustered, like the feeling someone gets before they start vomiting relentlessly from a virus.

"Wait." Itachi said, grabbing her shoulder before she could run out the door.

Upon touching her, aflash of her closed eyes and their lips pressed together barreled to the front of his mind like an intrusive relative at a reunion. One that you haven't seen since you were five, that intrudes your space for a couple of sloppy cheek kisses.

He released her quickly, like her skin was made of scalding metal.

Mariko stared at him with wide exasperated eyes as he cleared his throat subtly and waited for a nosy resident to pass by. The woman gaped at them shamelessly and slacked jawed as she walked by their open door.

"To succeed in this mission, you must let go of your fear." He continued in a reserved voice, his eyes still trained on the door frame. "These demons grow powerful from it. What happened in the ally cannot happen again."

She looked annoyed but submissive at the same time. "It won't."

Her reply was quiet and void of emotion, which led him to believe her statement.

He motioned for her to take the lead and followed her through the narrow corridor and down the stairs, watching her hair sway back and forth with each step.

They travelled long and they traveled hard.

So much time just walking and running left Mariko's brain to wander to places that haven't been accessed in a while. If these thoughts were books, they would be the dusty ones with crumbling covers that no one cared to read anymore.

Maybe it was the ancient woods that stirred them up, but for one reason or another, she was sifting through childhood memories. She had been a serious, unlovable, scrawny thing with baggy clothes that made her look like an old scarecrow, and with an intimidating disposition. Never being bullied much but never having any friends either- apart from a few exceptions. She preferred it that way, it was safer. Easier.

The only time she felt remotely happy as a kid was when she was daydreaming about her parents. They were warm and friendly, even if she could never quite put faces to her hypothetical family. She imagined that they were village heroes and that their whole family was esteemed and praised. Sometimes they lived in a tidy and cozy town house, where they could sit and watch the bustling villagers through a large bay window while they ate dinner together. Other times they lived in a huge Kusakabe on the outskirts of the leaf, shaded by a large tree where her dad had hung a rope swing for her and her make-believe siblings to propel themselves into the nearby pond.

But her parents had left her. They just dumped her in a mildewed blanket on a stranger's doorstep like trash. As time forced her to grow up, so did the tree of bitterness and resentment inside her.

She shut her eyes and locked out the dusty thoughts once more, thinking that it was funny how that those notions are what used to bring her comfort to get through the hard days, but now the only thing they brought her was more pain. And she had plenty of that thank you very much.

Eventually they found themselves trotting through a modest clearing encircled by large boulders.

Mariko glanced at them, took note of how out of place they looked, then looked forward once more. She wanted to stay focused. No time for curiosity.

When Itachi slowed to a leisurely saunter, Mariko sighed in exasperation.

"Hurry up." she said snappily, barely glancing over her shoulder as she breezed past him, making her shoulder bump into his arm forcefully. He was so mysterious all the time. It irked her.

"We need to rest." He muttered, coming to a full stop.

"We need to keep going." She countered flatly. Whipping her head around, giving him a scowl.

He sighed and set his backpack down. "It's been dark for a while, and we need to pace ourselves."

She slammed her bag on the ground and turned towards him, chin high, ready for a fight. Before she could say a word a flash of a kunai flew past her chest.

Darting back and they both drew their weapons in a blink just as they witnessed a dozen men sprinting at them at full speed.

Mariko back flipped away just as one of the attackers lunged at her. He fell hard onto his stomach as she dodged him.

Retaining her balance she got a good look at their faces.

Just like the demon from the ally, these creatures were cloaked in loose, worn, black cloth all over except for their faces. Her stomach twisted in revulsion, their eyes and mouths were either sloppily sewn shut with thin black string or melted shut.

"What are these things?" She called to Itachi who was at the ready across the clearing.

"Men. Zealots who have sold their souls and bodies to a supernatural being." He threw a kunai right into the face of one. The man stiffened and fell flat on his back. "I think it's safe to assume it's the spirit that's... giving you trouble." He said with a grunt and another fling of a knife.

Distress lodged into her throat but she swallowed it quickly. She focused on her anger, she let it flow. It was white hot and it consumed her, flowing through her intestines like magma ready to burst from her mouth and fingertips.

They were fast. They parted in half and came at them with full force. Shuriken were flying, kunai were stabbing, and Mariko managed to dodge everything, but just barely.

They were once obviously ninja and by their methodical movements and the typical weaponry they were equipped with. Mariko now saw that they had long since left that life. Ironic.

Dodging an elbow to the abdomen, she slid across the dirt like it was ice. She weaved a handful of signs, surprised at how her muscles remembered what she had assumed she had forgotten. She had a flicker of a grin on her face as she felt the chakra flowing through her veins, like the touch of an old friend. "Lightning style: Thundering Pinwheel"

Four or five men were caught in the blue, large spinning sparks. They twitched and flailed but Mariko didn't have the chance to see if it had been enough to finish them off.

One zealot managed to pierce her shoulder with a throwing star directly after she had cast her jutsu. She ripped the weapon out reflexively and clamped her hand to the cut. The attacker took advantage of the distraction and propelled himself into her, shoulder first.

They both landed hard, him on top of her. Mariko's vision blackened around the edges on impact, but she still saw the zealot rise up to plunge a kunai into her chest with both hands. She was quicker, she sent a sharp knee straight into his tailbone, making him lose his balance. She took the split second opportunity and thrust her own kunai deep into his jugular.

Hot, sticky blood sprayed onto her face, blinding her. She held back the urge to gag. As the radical was collapsing, she shoved him away and scrambled to her feet, furiously swiping the blood out of her eyes.

"Watch your back!" Itachi called to her.

She spun around and threw up her kunai in defense just as one was slung down at her head. Grabbing another kunai from her pouch, she sliced the enemies' knuckles of the fist that was connected to the knife.

The radical clutched his wrist, giving her enough time to stick her knife straight into his ribs. She twisted it and with a gurgling sound he too collapsed into the dirt.

The remaining zealot's lay scattered about the meadow, unmoving; lifeless, their bodies clumsy awkward heaps.

"Do you think there are more trying to find us?" She panted as she spit the metallic tasting blood out of her mouth. Not really sure if it was hers or another's. She frantically wiped what was left of the offending substance off of her face.

"I don't know." Itachi said quietly.

Her eyes locked onto him standing behind her. He was the picture of calm, not looking even remotely disturbed. He was unscathed and clean.

Resentment crept into her mouth and left a sour taste. He had taken so many of these people out in the same amount of time she had taken out just a handful. And one had almost ended her existence.

He strode toward her, carefully stepping through the constellations of discarded weapons. He walked with his hand raised slightly, as if he were trying to calm a feral cat. "You're bleeding."

"Really? I had no idea!" she spat at him. Anger pounded in her ears like a drum.

His eyebrows lifted an inch and reached for her again. "If we don't clean it and-"

"I know!" She yelled again as she slapped his hand away. "I'm not stupid and you're not perfect!"

Itachi paused then laughed. She wasn't joking around. She was dead serious and wanted to be taken that way. The sound of his laughter infuriated her. Mariko could admit she had a temper, a fiery on at that. Her soul was constantly covered in gasoline and just a tiny spark would set her ablaze.

"You better wipe that arrogant smile off your face before I tear it off!" She pointed a bloody kunai at him.

He sobered immediately and narrowed his eyes. "You know something? You're an undisciplined brat." He said it coolly but his frustration was apparent.

"I cannot believe I followed you here." She growled, throwing the knife down.

Turning on her heel she strode to her pack, a hand still clamped to her shoulder. The blood seeped into her clothes and made her fingers damp. The soggy feeling made her panicked.

She started digging, throwing miscellaneous items out carelessly. When she couldn't find the bandages she cursed and threw her bag as hard as she could. The bag flopped unceremoniously and unsatisfyingly in the dirt. She knelt on her knees, the undergrowth scraping her skin. As her rage started to ebb, the pain in her shoulder became sharper.

She heard Itachi walking closer and braced herself for a scolding. When it didn't come, she turned to watch him. He was slowly picking up her bag and contents, brushing off dirt and putting everything back in its place with unnecessary gentleness.

When he walked over to her she became wary, throwing up her walls and her body becoming visibly rigid. Calmness wasn't always a good thing. She had just threatened him after all.

But when Itachi crouched in front of her, his expression was soft. Mariko shied away slightly. What was he doing?

Reaching up, he gingerly pried her hand away from her shoulder. His eyes narrowed in concentration as he started gently peeling the fabric away from the wound. She tried to ignore the nauseating squelching it made. Biting down on her lip she forced herself to hold back a hiss of pain, refusing to look any weaker than she already did.

When her jacket was finally pulled off he tossed it to the side and returned his attention to her wound, leaving her in her sleeveless white undershirt. She blushed, feeling exposed.

"It doesn't look too bad." Grabbing his own canteen and a cloth out of his bag, he poured water onto the rag and started dabbing at the gash, the blood turning the white cloth a mixture of brown, orange, and red. "In fact it looks like just a really good nick."

She forced a breath through her nose. "Just a nick?"

"Well maybe more of a gash." He acknowledges, his voice laced with slight humor.

It stung, but not as bad as her heart ached. Mariko chewed her lip, her mouth still tasting like a coin.

He was being so careful, so gentle, and she had done nothing but try to push him away. She bowed her head and studied her dirty knees, ashamed.

"I'm not a real ninja..." Mariko whispered suddenly. Her own words cutting off her air supply. They were out of her mouth before she knew she was saying them.

Itachi's eyebrow twitched slightly but he kept working, waiting for her to elaborate.

Further humiliation heated her ears. "I haven't fought anyone in at least three years. In fact I don't even think I've touched a weapon in that amount of time either."

Why was she telling him this? She had just determined herself not to look weak and here she was, looking weak.

Itachi held her arm firmly as he finished wrapping up her cut and ripped off the excess cloth with his teeth, despite there being plenty of sharp objects lying around. His ghost of a breath on her skin spread a pleasant warmth throughout her chest.

He sat next to her, grabbing some of his weapons out of his pouch. He started plunging his weapons into the earth, cleansing them of the zealot's blood. Each stab into soft terrain cleaned the blades effectively enough.

She caught him looking at her from the corner of his eye. "What happened?" he muttered as he placed his last weapon into the soil.

Mariko heaved a quiet sigh and traced her finger around in the dirt. She dug in the trenches of her brain. Where could she even begin? The story was short but complicated and well suppressed. She struggled to bring memories to the surface.

"Soon after you left the village, Ibiki Morino, the commanding officer of the village's torture and interrogation force, as you probably remember, took me under his wing. He became my master and tried to teach me everything he knew."

"Tried?"

She sucked in her lips between her teeth for a moment. He didn't miss her use of the word 'tried'. Why did he have to be so attentive?

"Don't get me wrong..." She continued "I excelled at it. I was a prodigy in the matter of interrogation." She wasn't proud of it. She turned her head and looked at him pointedly. "I'm good at reading people. That's why I was placed under Ibiki."

She looked back at the ground studying the skinny slits that Itachi's kunai had left in the dirt. She stuck her finger in one and twisted, watching the dirt grind about. Little tiny specks formed piles around her knuckle.

"The torture part of the job is where I was a screw up. For months I learned all what I could. But I despised it. I would make myself ill just at the thought of facing the rest of my days doing that. I would have to leave to vomit during sessions."

A few flashes assaulted her. The smell of burnt flesh. The barely there sprinkle of fresh blood on a square floor tile. The cranking metal from various tools. They often were forced to read their captives minds, and even those blank stares haunted her when she least expected it.

"Ibiki took notice of my behavior and confronted me about it. Naturally I lashed out at him." She let out another breath, fast and harsh. "He was so supportive and a great teacher. But I said some awful things to him that day." He was the closest thing she had to a father and she abandoned him. She left that part out. She could never admit those words aloud. They were buried too deep. Pry it up and you would rip something vital out with it.

"Despite his efforts to discourage me from it; his threats, promises, and pleading, I quit."

"You quit?" Itachi looked confused.

She was about to spout out something about him having no right to judge her, but she caught sight of his understanding expression and stifled it.

"Why didn't you just move to another line of work?"

Mariko just looked at him, knowing her face looked miserably pathetic. "I had failed, and what was the point of trying again? Did I even really matter? Nothing I did would make a difference. I've just been existing for the past few years. Barely scraping* by because I was too cowardly to even..." Her head drooped like a dying(wilting?)* flower. "I quit before I even gave myself a chance."

Itachi was quiet, taking in her words.

Mariko didn't know how to take the following silence. Normally she preferred silence, but this was different. This silence was filled with her own anxiety. This was the man who murdered his family, she knew she shouldn't feel any shame in admitting her own faults to someone like him, but she couldn't smother the feeling.

Unable to take much more quiet, she was about to ask him what he was thinking when he abruptly stood up and started dusting off his pants.

"Come on. We need to get going." He slung on his pack. Not looking at her. "After this encounter we can't stay here."

Mariko swallowed thickly. She knew she shouldn't care what Itachi thought of her. But she did. She cared what he thought and she was so ashamed.

Standing up with the stiffness of a much older woman, she gathered her own bag, being careful with her injury.

Itachi was already a few feet ahead of her. She willed herself to catch up but felt so tired. Why had she been so stubborn earlier about stopping to rest earlier? Now she barely had the strength to keep up a brisk walk.

She managed to catch up and shadowed Itachi instead of walking slightly ahead like she normally did.

"If we have some time, I can show you some techniques." Itachi said over his shoulder. His voice held a positivity that Mariko had never heard from him. "Lightning style chakra is very similar to fire style. I feel like it will translate rather easily." He turned his head a tad more. "But you can't continue to feel sorry for yourself."

The last sentence made her ears and neck burn hot. She wanted to smack him, but she kept her anger in check. She deserved any belittlement he could dish out.

He faced forward, almost ignoring her existence for the rest of their traveling that evening, not looking back.


	6. Day 4

DAY 4

After sleeping on the hard ground in thin mats for only a few hours, they left again shortly after dawn. Trying to make up for any lost time from the previous morning.

As they walked the forest gradually became thicker and greener, taking on a more jungle feel as the vegetation became more concentrated. The humidity made their clothing damp and uncomfortable. Moss was climbing up all that touched the earth. It reminded Mariko of her mark. Possessive. Growing at a snail's pace.

"I never realized the forests got this dense." Mariko mumbled after sputtering a bug that had flown into her mouth. "It's like a rain forest here."

Itachi made no comment. He had said a whopping total of four words since the previous evening. A sense of uneasy guilt tried to descend on her but she stifled it, why did she care what Itachi thought. He had committed heinous crimes; he wasn't exactly a shining example of moral standings. Mariko had repeated this train of thought multiple times in the past few hours. She kept prompting herself that she didn't care what he thought of her.

A dull thudding in the distance interrupted her thoughts.

"What's that noise?" Mariko said, finally stopping to get a better listen. She realized that the animals had stopped their chirping and rustling as if they too were listening.

Itachi stopped too, tilting his head, lifting his right ear towards the treetops. The deep, steady, rumbling thump echoed through the trees. Mariko could've sworn the leaves shook with each beat.

"I swear if it's some sort of giant that crawled up from the ninth circle of hell..."

"It sounds like music." Itachi muttered mostly to himself.

Using their hearing, they followed the sound. As they drew closer, the bass of the music eventually shook the earth beneath them. Eventually Mariko could pick out instruments. She heard a couple of tambourines, a guitar, and more drums.

Her heart leapt with joy at the melodious noises. She struggled to keep still. Her feet twitched, wanting to move. The music poured like soothing salve on her aching head.

After a mile they found the source of the music. Large tents. Colorful ones painted with different mosaic patterns. Four stood pressed against one another in a great mass, taking up a whole clearing. Enormous trees circled around making a cozy barrier.

"These tents are larger than some of the buildings in the leaf. They are massive!" Mariko stated in Itachi's direction. She was going to keep talking whether he was listening or not; although she wished that her tone didn't sound so kiddish, even to her own ears. She couldn't help it; there was just something about them that made her marvel. Itachi seemed just as curious as her, craning his neck as he took it all in.

When they came closer a young man dressed in ridiculously obvious hippy, nomadic garb tumbled out of the nearest tent's flap, a huge grin plastered on his face.

His eyes shone brightly as he made contact with theirs. "Ah! Welcome weary travelers!" He said flamboyantly. "Come, come inside please!" He grabbed their arms.

Mariko resisted, jerking her forearm out of his grasp. "Sorry, but we need to move on, we are in a hurry." She said feeling caught off guard and wary of the too warm of welcome.

The young man stopped and placed his hands on his chest. "Forgive me! I am Kazu..." He bowed deeply then jerked a thumb behind him. "I'm the ringleader of the "circus" in there." He chuckled at his own joke. His laugh was a high pitched like a startled chicken.

Kazu placed his hands on his hips, his smile lingering permanently bove his bearded chin. "In there the party never stops and it's just complete nonsense to be too busy for a good time! Life's too short to be in too much of a hurry to stop and smell the roses." He winked at Itachi.

Mariko cut her eyes to assess Itachi's reaction to the friendly gesture. His face was passive and blank. Did they know each other?

Before she could entertain the thought, Kazu grabbed them once more and pushed them in through the heavy canvas flap. Instantly the music intensified to the point where Mariko had to resist covering her ears.

The air was smoky and doused with the smell of alcohol and various recreational drugs. The lighting was dim, but even so there was something slightly pretty about the dust particle sparkles that floated through the dull beams of light that slipped into the room.

Hundreds upon hundreds of people from all villages bustled around each other. It would've been a beautiful sight, seeing so many people with opposing views getting along with one another if it weren't crystal clear that these were the misfits and rejects from all societies.

Some were drinking, some were smoking, some were doing both, and nearly half of them were dancing. The other half were loitering around listlessly or flirting with each other boldly. Mariko caught sight of a couple sloppily rubbing their tongues together and felt heat pour into her face. She put a hand over her mouth and looked away in embarrassment.

"Ha ha ha! Not used to the high life huh?" Their escort yelled a little too loud over the noise, giving Mariko a good natured slap on the back. He was leading them through the tiny natural trails that formed between crowds.

Mariko could feel herself perspiration pool in her armpits and on her forehead. Swallowing dryly her eyes darted about at the hundreds of faces they passed. She kept bumping into shoulders. A man's sweaty, exposed, bloated, gut brushed against her arm and she visibly shuddered, using her shirt to wipe the moisture off frantically.

She wouldn't panic here. She wouldn't punch some drunken old fool this time just because she was feeling vulnerable and claustrophobic. If Itachi would guide her like before she would feel much more at ease...

No, none of that sentimental crap. she thought to herself.

Kazu bent towards Itachi. "Where are you two headed? Across the river?"

"We are headed to Namida Mountain." Itachi answered curtly in a 'don't ask too many questions' tone.

"That right?" The young man said, snatching a bottle from an unsuspecting stranger's hands and taking a swig. "Well to get to the mountain you have to cross the river..." He took a few more gulps then tossed the empty bottle behind him carelessly, the crash of broken glass nonexistent among the racket. "...The fastest way to cross the river is to take the barge. To take the barge you have to go through our tents. They're rather large, you see, and take up most of the trails and forest. ".

He pulled two black sticks and held them out to Itachi and Mariko. "To pass through our tents you have to relax a little." He grinned impishly, looking over excited. "Cause we don't help stiffs or stuck ups."

"I don't smoke." Mariko snipped, crossing her arms over her chest tightly.

Kazu laughed, "Yeah me either. Don't worry, they're not THAT addictive and they aren't poisonous if that's what you're wondering. They are virtually harmless."

Mariko felt alarm flutter in her chest like a butterfly. "You're serious? You want us to take drugs from someone we hardly know. How stupid do you think we are?" She smacked a hand to her forehead in disbelief before quickly dropping it again. "We don't have time! Sir, we need to get through!" Mariko insisted.

She looked at Itachi for help, wondering why he hadn't spoken up yet. "Come on, we can just take to the tree branches, we can-"

Mariko's words stuttered to a halt. She did a double take and her mouth fell open with a pop. Itachi had lit the cigar and was already taking a huge drag.

"Itachi..." she muttered, astonishment laced into that one word. "Itachi, what the heck!?"

"See your friend has the right idea!" The young man laughed his chicken laugh. "Come on. It's just a couple hours of fun to save you three or four hours of doggy paddling." He held out a lighter.

Mariko cautiously took the stick and hesitated as if just touching it would give her a deadly disease. She gave Itachi another glance and he nodded his encouragement with high eyebrows and pursed lips. Something about his expression sent a shudder down her spine. She could see the impatience behind it.

Her sigh morphed into a frustrated growl. "I'm dying anyways..." she grumbled through clenched teeth, putting the stick between her lips with more force than necessary and, ripping off the metaphorical Band-Aid, leaned forward to let Kazu light it before she could change her mind.

"Alright, two hours, that's it. After that come and get us and take us right to the barge." She demanded, the black roll up jiggling between her teeth as she spoke. She dug in her pocket and handed him a bill of money. She doubted greatly that he would keep his word, despite the bribe.

Through crossed eyes, she gave the stick one last glare before inhaling deeply.

It tickled her sinuses slightly, but it tasted lovely. It almost had a fruity taste. Ibiki would kill her if he knew she was indulging in something like this. After a few more deep breaths, she could feel the buzz leisurely flood into the back of her head. Her vision seemed to sharpen and become more saturated with color. She looked at Itachi from the corner of her eye.

He was observing the masses, his knee bouncing slightly to the beat of the music. Finishing up his stick, he tossed it lazily among the other discarded or lost items that littered the ground.

Mariko felt a smile reach its way across her face. The music had moved on to a leisurely tempo, very different from the pounding in Mariko's ears. The bass became even more overwhelming, creating a small earthquake that vibrated from her feet to her chest. It had been a long time since she felt this relaxed. She might have never felt this relaxed. She laughed, at herself, then at everyone else. She felt ecstatic.

The crowed seemed to thicken, absorbing both her and Itachi. She didn't mind though.

She felt the music within her.

Before she knew it, her hands were raised above her head, her feet moving below her. It had never felt this good; it had been a hundred years since she had been carefree enough to dance. She vaguely remembered a small girl spinning in circles in a dusty room to the beat of festival music outside of her window.

Itachi's quiet laugh to her left drew her eyes up to his. He was closer now,smiling with his arms crossed, the expression actually reaching his eyes, making them crinkle in amusement.

"What's so funny?" For once her question didn't come out unintentionally insulting.

"Not funny, just endearing." He tilted his head and kept grinning at her warmly. "You're a pretty great dancer. That stuff worked you over didn't it?"

She smirked, "I'm better with a partner." Her voice came out involuntarily seductive. She had to press her lips tightly together to keep from bursting into laughter. His shocked expression was hilarious. Eyes wide and mouth turned down at the corners slightly.

A shade of red crimson crept up into his neck. "I... uh...I don't dance."

She shook her head and laughed, jingling bells ringing out from her throat. "It's not hard, and if you loosen up a little I can show you." She stretched out her arms and curled one pointer finger towards her, inviting Itachi to come closer.

Something shifted in him and his eyes relaxed. "I think I'd rather keep watching you." He said without missing a beat, His voice low and smooth.

Instead of getting embarrassed like she should have, she just smirked at him.

Lowering her hands she grabbed his, pulling him against her.. Itachi stiffened up to the point where he could pass as a cardboard cutout. She placed his palms on her waist, and she wrapped her arms around his neck.

She kept dancing anyways, even if it was like dancing with a broom. She twisted her hips and lifted her long hair to get a breeze on the back of her sweaty neck. She shut her eyes and felt more fluidity in her movements, losing herself to the music's charm.

Realizing that Itachi's hands were still around her waist, her eyes opened to see him watching their feet, trying to move in sync with the song. He didn't have much rhythm but he had just enough.

Mariko slowed down and kneaded her feet into the floor. She let her hands rub his back gently, wanting to coax him into comfort.

She felt a gradual shift in him; his body started falling into time with the music. What had started as rigid movements had become increasingly more sinuous. Although there was still a roughness about the way he moved, every move was far from elegant but oozing masculinity.

Her heart rate accelerated and it seemed he knew because his hands moved just a hair lower on her hips and he held her tighter. Their steps were perfectly in sync now, feet slowly massaging the earth below.

Fear had now raced out of her mind, no cares or insecurities were left, she couldn't even remember anything to be worried about, and she was completely absorbed into the dance, the song, and her partner.

She looked up cautiously, breath catching in her throat at what she saw. Itachi's face was mere inches away, watching her intently. His face held a look that finally made her blush.

Mariko tilted her head. She didn't know why she didn't see it before. With his nose straight and long, eyes wide and black, thick hair, and chiseled proportions, how could she had not find him attractive. Maybe she just never took the time to look at him. Maybe she had just been in denial.

He pulled her closer, brushing her hair from her eyes.

"You know, you weren't lying when you said you weren't that good of a dancer." She teased, trying to shrug off some of the tension between them.

"I know. That's why I said I would rather watch you." His gaze drifted just for a moment before darting back to her eyes.

She laughed and ducked her head a little. "I'm good but I'm not that good."

Itachi tipped her chin up with a flick of his thumb. "You're better than you think." He pulled her closer, their chests now touching.

Flushed at their proximity, she reached up and pulled his hand to place his open palm against her cheek, holding onto him firmly. Their dancing had stopped and they were now standing still in a sea of movement. Time seemed to slow.

Itachi placed his other hand on her face and leaned closer, their noses brushing together. Their eyes were both wide with excitement and their breaths intermingled. Mariko felt her heart would burst at any moment.

"Um...excuse me."

Both of their heads darted over to find Kazu looking entertained.

"You asked me to let you know when a couple of hours were up. Well, it's been almost two, now." He said pointing at an invisible wristwatch. "I can lead you out to the docks now where the ferries are waiting."

Itachi let her go, and she felt like ice went over her body when his warmth left her.

"Thank you, but you can just point us in the right direction and we can make it." Itachi said, sounding irritated. Mariko felt a small shiver of worry. Had she done something to upset him? Just as soon as the thought had popped into her head, she realized that Itachi was holding her hand and pulling her through the crowd.

Once out of the tents, Mariko took a deep breath and felt elated once more. "It smells so amazing out here!" She spun in a circle and then did a little cartwheel, an open mouth smile on her face. "What was in that stuff?"

Itachi emitted a bark of a laugh, "you don't want to know. I'm kind of jealous of you right now."

"What do you mean?" She asked, spinning around once more then stumbling slightly in a dizzy stupor. "Don't you just feel amazing?" She giggled at the way the word felt on her tongue.

He smiled genially. "Kazu convinced me once to smoke the same thing once before. Turns out I have a natural immunity to the stuff." He shrugged. "Hardly affects me at all."

"Ah ha! I knew you guys were friends." She clapped her hands together once in glee.

"Just acquaintances, really."

"It's too bad you're immune though." She stuck out her lip in over exaggerated pity. "It's too bad because I feel like," She looked around for a second then hopped up on a boulder and yelled out her arms stretched to the heavens "a new woman!"

Startled birds flew away in a panic at her outburst. She doubles over in laughter, clenching her ribs with both arms.

They made their way down a narrow dirt path that ran along the wide river. There, they hitched a ride on a small boat, run by two short hairy men who grumbled about how that they waited and had almost left without them.

The sun had begun to set and a purple hue had covered the atmosphere. Water bugs and frogs chirped loudly and the lazy slush of the water rocked their vessel gently as the wooden propeller slowly paddled them along.

Mariko lounged lazily against the side of the boat, finding shapes in the wispy clouds, still coming down from her high. Itachi sat cross legged leaning against the opposite side of the very small deck.

"Let's play a game." She announced abruptly.

"Hmm?" His head darted up. "A game." He inquired flatly as if her suggestion was ridiculous.

"Yeah. Ever heard of a game before? "She widened her eyes and shook her head at him playfully. "I'll tell you something about myself and you have to tell me something about you."

Itachi's brow furrowed slightly and he looked away, his eyes scanning the wide body of water. "This seems like a dangerous game doesn't it?"

"What are you scared or something?" She tilted her head in mock concern.

"Fine." He smirked realizing that she was still a little loose and there wasn't talking her out of anything. "I think cabbage is the greatest food on earth."

She looked taken aback and then laughed inelegantly, the sound coming out similar to the noise of their boat's motor. "Are you serious? Cabbage? What about ice cream? Or you know cake?"

Itachi's smile grew. "How are you so skinny?"

She ignored his good-humored jab and scratched her head. "It's my turn. And speaking of skinny." One of her hand grazed down over her ribs. "I once beat up a boy who made fun of me being flat." She pointed to her chest. "Are you sure you're a girl?" She mimicked a high-pitched obnoxious kid voice and flapped her hands. Itachi didn't know what the hand flapping was supposed to be an impression of.

He rolled his eyes. "Was he blind?"

She stared at him.

He felt himself getting flustered. "Well what I'm saying is, you...definitely don't look like a boy..." His fixed his attention suddenly on the river once more.

She giggled. "Alright, alright, let me stop you right there so I don't have to cut off your valuable parts for checking all this..." She gestured to her body with a long sweep of her arm and wiggled her hips. "Out."

He smirked. "You think my parts are valuable?"

"Shut up..."

"Alright, my turn. I was made fun of too you know, for these." He pointed to the tear troughs that stretched down from his eyes.

Mariko scoffed. "I bet you one person made a comment once. That's not being made fun of. All the other kids adored you."

He waved her comment away like a pesky fly. He did have insecurities contrary to what she believed. "Whatever, your turn."

She started kneading her feet with her thumbs; the pain of dancing for two hours straight must have started breaking through. Itachi caught himself hoping that her some of her high would stick around, the part that made her less...touchy.

"I've never smoked in my entire life." They both started laughing before the sentence was even completely formed.

Itachi placed a hand to his forehead. "Oh, that was painfully obvious, princess."

She gave him a funny look. "And another thing; I HATE that nickname." She pointed a finger at him. He could tell she was struggling to be stern.

"Sorry if the truth hurts. Well, you are a bit too crude to be a princess. Maybe it's just the irony that makes it so amusing." He chuckled "But I'll get to brainstorming on a new one."

Silence for a couple moments.

"How about 'shortie'?"

"Absolutely not."

The sun was almost completely gone now, the chirping had subsided slightly. The temperature had started dropping and Mariko had started to shiver in the chilly air. She looked exhausted now but still seems loads happier than before.

"I was abandoned when I was an infant." She made a quiet choking sound almost as soon as the words tumbled from her lips. She quickly looked away. "I'm not sure why I just said that.." she muttered.

It was painfully obvious that the confession had been an accident. She looked mortified. The last thing Itachi wanted was for her to close herself off again. He didn't know how much longer he could handle her tough guy no-nonsense façade.

"I...never knew that." Itachi said quietly, struggling to keep the shock from his voice.

"Yeah." Mariko pushed her bangs out of her face pointedly avoiding his eyes. "I know nothing about them. No cliché note on a basket. Nothing." Her eyes drifted up and studied his face for a few moments before darting back down again.

"I hate it when people pity me, so I usually keep it to myself." She flicked a stray pebble on the barge's floor with her fore finger.

Itachi watched her throat as she swallowed thickly; he pictured the confession sticking to the inside of her throat like glue. He couldn't help the thought of brushing his fingertips against the soft skin there once more.

She sighed heavily. "I guess...I just wanted to try to make you understand my trust issues."

"You know, I-"

Itachi was interrupted when he was knocked over roughly. The boat tilted to the side dramatically as if they had hit a boulder.

"What the..." Mariko exclaimed standing and steadying herself on the railing.

She leaned over cautiously and peered into the water.

Itachi reached out and yanked her back away from the ledge when one of the bargemen bursts from the helm, the small metal door crashing loudly against the siding.

"What did you two do?" his scraggly beard waved as he shouted accusingly. "Quit screwing around! Do you know how-"

Mariko shrieked and Itachi drug them back further as a tentacle reached across the deck and swept up the bargeman, dragging him into the sea. The man kicked and screamed but his struggling gurgled off abruptly as he was pulled under the water.

Itachi's brain shifted into survival mode.

The boat is grounded or being held hostage by a cephalopod monstrosity.

One of the bargemen is now dead.

Itachi activated his sharingan. And crawled over to the railing, peeking his eyes over, his eyes scanned the lake.

It was at least 90 yards to the shore.

He skimmed across the water. He pinpointed the squid; A massive amount of chakra lurking under the surface.

A wretched stench burned his nostrils. It rose from the depths like a hovering fog. It was a jarring smell of ruined meat and stale water.

Neither he nor Mariko moved, waiting for a sign of movement, waiting for a sound or anything to happen.

The other bargeman flew out the door, harpoon in hand, screaming barely coherent obscenities.

Pausing just for a moment, as he frantically searched the water and flung his weapon through the glassy surface.

Stillness, then the monster flung itself against the boat and the last thing Itachi saw was the bargeman's back snapping in two as a tightly coiled crushed his waist before he fell into the water.

The cold lake shocked his skin as it engulfed him. As he made his way towards the top he had a moment of panic as he realized he didn't know if Mariko could swim.

He sucked in a harsh breath and a rush of relief raced through him when he realized that Mariko had already re-surfaced. She was staring, fear in her round eyes.

"Itachi?"

"Go! Swim for the shore! Go!"

Taking long powerful strokes, they paddled towards the bank. He was reassured to see that Mariko was actually a capable swimmer; she was already a few paces ahead of him.

A tentacle wrapped around his legs and he barely had time to heave in a breath before he was dragged down towards the bottom. He watched the sunlight briskly fade above him.

He wriggled and tried to kick but his knees were locked in place. The monster tightened its grip on him the more he struggled.

Thinking fast he reached down and felt the tentacle, he let fire flow through his palms, and though the boiling water scalded his skin, the monster let him go. He didn't waste any time. His lungs threatened to inhale water as he pumped his arms. Bursting through the surface, he poured chakra into his feet and started sprinting. He flung his arms back as he gained speed.

He could hear Mariko shrieking his name frantically. Her voice was then drowned out when he heard the beast emerge from the lake. It's roar was deafening but it was still the smell that was jarring.

It was getting harder to run steadily as the monster lumbered after him, making large waves.

When he was near the shore, he saw Mariko start running towards him, the ankle deep water spraying outward.

"Come on! You're almost there!" She called out as she reached an arm out to him.

his Sharingan allowing for enhanced peripherals, he saw the creature gaining proximity, he kicked his legs hard, propelling himself forward, his muscles burning.

He felt the tips of tentacles on his ankles that made his skin crawl but his hand found Mariko's and she flung him to shore behind her with surprising strength.

A roar stung their ears once more as the monster's unintelligible face enraged, and bobbing in and out of the water.

The two of them stumbled back as waves rushed over their bodies.

They backed their way onto dry ground and Itachi fell back onto his rear, his lungs on fire. The monster tried to reach them from the lake, its long arms swinging and missing by mere inches.

Mariko let out a cry. It sounded very similar to the monster's roar. She lunged forward before Itachi could stop her and placing her own palms on the water, let out volts of electrical currents.

The monster seized up, twitching and flailing around wildly. Its massive black body was convulsing as it bellowed in rage and pain.

Mariko let out even more energy. She was still screaming in her adrenalin, her face contorted in fury.

Coughing up the last bit of water he had inhaled, Itachi marveled at the amount of chakra she was currently displaying. The electricity bounced and weaved through the water like a spider web for a few more seconds before she finally released the jutsu.

Standing up to her full height, she glared at the monster's body as it floated lifeless, birds were already circling overhead, ready to pick off Mariko's leftovers.

She whipped around to look at him, her long hair fanning out in thick damp strands.

"You alright?"

He pushed himself up to his knees. "Yeah, I'm good." He took in the sight of the monster. Its soft fleshy body still twitched in some places. He didn't think for one second that the attack was a coincidence.

"I never would've guessed that you would be so talented at lightning style."

She shrugged passively and after ringing out her hair, knelt to search through her bag. "Well... the map is damp but not ruined. The book however..." She pulled out the soggy brick of papers. And held it out for him to see.

"We might be able to dry it off. Let's find somewhere to camp."

Mariko shook her head, looking distracted. "But...We've hardly made any progress today."

Itachi thought back to the tents, their warm embrace.

"Well we did better than you think. We crossed the lake. That was a big obstacle." He pulled his own bag up higher on his shoulders, surprised that it stayed intact during his struggle. "Come on, kid."

"'Kid' isn't much better than 'princess'. You're getting there though."

She didn't move. Her head was bowed and he hand loosely held the book.

"Mariko..."

She shook her head, refusing to look up at him. "Those men."

Itachi sighed and walked closer to her. His damp clothes clung to his body uncomfortably. He knelt down, picking up one of her hands.

"There wasn't anything we could do." He insisted, his words coming out in a muttered promise. He brought one of her hands a fraction closer to his face. Her nail beds were split and tiny little chunks were missing here and there. He had noticed that she chewed her cuticles when she was nervous, but she must have made it a worse habit than he originally thought.

"It was my fault. You heard what Fukiyo said. The spirits prey on those who have darkness in their hearts..."

Itachi dropped her hands and chucked her chin softly. Stretching his neck down, he looked into her eyes. He got a good look at the tears brewing there before she squeezed them shut.

"Mariko your heart is anything but dark. Don't blame this on anyone but the demon. It did this. Not you."

"Fukiyo said that the spirit only does this to people-"

"Never mind what she said." Itachi objected.

"Those men probably had families, Itachi! Friends and coworkers." She finally looked up, the tears were there but still clinging desperately to her bottom eyelids, refusing to fall. "Now because of me they will never go home."

They were at a standoff. Itachi stared into her eyes. Onyx versus amber.

He relented in a sigh full of exhaustion. There was no way to convince her of anything. Just like she realized that he wasn't going to hurt her, hopefully she would learn to channel all of her hatred onto that demon. Rather than place it all upon herself.

"Face that way."

"I think you're being dramatic. How is that any different than being in a bathing suit?"

"It's way beyond inappropriate."

"Honestly, Mariko I-"

"Just do it!" she snapped eager to get out of her dripping clothes, and after seeing Itachi shirtless, in his underclothing, comparing bodies was the last thing she wanted to do.

With a huff, he yielded and turned his back to the small fire.

She caught her eyes lingering on the pronounced muscles in his back before forcing her attention to dressing herself. "I swear if I have to fight some other absurd, bizarre beast in my underwear..." she grumbled as she ripped off her soaked hoodie and peeled her undershirt off her damp body, feeling immediate relief at its absence.

They had strung up a makeshift clothesline and all of their belongings now hung up, swinging dry in the night breeze. Thank God it wasn't raining.

Mariko shivered as she pulled off her pants, the fabric making a suctioning sound, and flung them up next to her shirt and her extra outfits.

She felt her sleeping mat. It was almost dry but not yet dry enough to lie on.

With nothing else to sit on but a log sitting up against their small fire pit, she plopped down and winced as the bark bit into the skin on her backside.

"This is ridiculous." She said, wrapping her arms around herself and squeezing, grateful for the warmth of the fire.

She couldn't help but keep making sideways glances at Itachi to see if he would try to peek at her. He didn't.

"At least it's a bit warmer out tonight than it has been."

"Whatever...it's miserable out here." She looked down at her mark which was now stretching up her elbow; tiny trails were now appearing on her side as well.

"It's only as miserable as you make it." He countered patiently.

She scoffed and her tone dripped with venom. "Is that something your "mother" used to tell you before you-"Mariko slapped a hand hard over her mouth to stop the flow of words.

Where had that come from?

"What did you just say...?" Itachi whispered. His voice was breathy and strained.

She felt sick. Why had that come out of her mouth? She hadn't even been thinking about that.

Itachi leapt up, his back rising and falling with heavy inhales. He spun towards her. Mariko, still too shocked with her own vile implication to cover her exposed skin and too scared of what he was about to do.

His face was contorted in a ferocious expression, his eyes laced with pain.

With loud strides, He stomped over. He bent down right next to her face, and pointed a shaking finger at her nose.

He heaved in a heavy breath through his nose. "Listen, I'm going to pretend that it probably sounded different in that prissy little head of yours, but if you ever talk about my mother again..." he stood and loomed over her. "...You can forget my help..."

Turning on his heel he yanked his sleeping bag off the line, flung it to the ground, and crawled inside; his bare back facing her.

Mariko bit her lip. "I'm sorry..." she whispered.

He ignored her.

She was sorry. She wasn't sure why. He was the one who had murdered his mother not her...so why did she feel so bad?

Maybe she was just exhausted trying to be his enemy when he had been more of a comrade than anyone else had been before.

She stayed up for a couple more hours, listening to the sounds of the night and staring blankly into the fire before she too grabbed her sleeping bag and tried to sleep


	7. Determination

BEFORE

MAKOTO

The shovel pierced the dirt once more before he leaned against the tool. Though the wind was bitter, the sun still beat down hot through his linen shirt and straight to his aching back.

lifting his head, he glanced towards their house. It was extremely small and in desperate need of repairs. He glared at the tattered shingles . There just weren't enough hours in the day. Now his family had to live in a shack with crumbling tiles and cracked floors.

He spotted Tama sitting on the steps rocking the baby. His wife looked up and waved sweetly.

As if he weren't working himself to death.

He couldn't help but be annoyed, but he waved back anyways with a careless flap of a hand.

He shoved his anger down and sighed. He really should try harder. He could see how hard Tama was working taking care of the baby and she did what she could to keep the inside of the house clean.

He really did love them so much. He didn't deserve them.

striking at the dirt again, he started digging once more, his biceps shaking every time he raised the shovel. He couldn't go easy on himself.

Tama could have never led a ninja's way of life like the rest of her family. Her health wouldn't have allowed it. Even so, her father had been wrathful in his anger, when he discovered Tama's plans to marry him. He was a lowly farmer after all. He wasn't worthy to marry into a family so above him.

Her father had been unforgiving. That was apparent by the scars he left on Tama's face and body.

Makoto was going to prove them wrong. Next season his farm would take off. They would make so much money they wouldn't know what to do with it. His family would have the best of everything. A big house, the best tutors. Everything.

It was going to happen no matter what.


	8. Day 5

DAY 5

As if they hadn't had enough water to last them a lifetime, the morning was misty, making visibility low and their moods even lower.

Luckily their clothes had enough time to dry and were now safely tucked back into their places.

Mariko zipped up her bag and leaned back against a tree, wanting a moment to herself before they trekked out once more. She squeezed her eyes shut.

Still repulsed by her words last night, she mentally kicked herself repeatedly. Even though those words weren't actually fully voiced, she still felt disgusting. There were two universal laws in the world that she knew to be true; don't mess with a mother's babies and don't mess with a child's mother unless you want a 12 round fight.

Heck, when she was a kid she punched a classmate out for even mentioning her mother and Mariko had never even met her.

Still there was something...off. The feeling was roaming within her gut, slipping and sliding around, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was. Maybe she was just insane. Maybe this was just some fever dream.

Mocking her right on cue, she felt her hand pulse, reminding her that everything that was happening was very real.

She glanced down at her arm hanging there limp and sad, the green veins disgusting to look at. Maybe she should just crawl back into her sleeping bag and let this curse take her over while she slept the next- she did the math mentally- week. Had five days already slipped from her grasp?

"You awake over there?"

Breaking from her thoughts, she glanced up and saw Itachi staring at her. She expected him to be hostile or at least irritable with her. He only seemed wary, like he was staring at a stranger.

She ran a hand roughly down her face, feeling her skin being pushed down. A tightening of her chest and Mariko had a sensation she had when she was about to give up on something. She hated that feeling, like no matter how hard she tried, not even if her very life was at stake, she would never accomplish anything worthwhile. She would always be just this. Just the same as she was now; exhausted, juvenile, and useless until the day she died.

She pushed herself up, the bark clinging to her clothes, beckoning her the come back. "I'm ready when you are."

Mariko froze, her frame as rigid as an animal contemplating whether to wait or flee. Her skin gradually bubbled up in hard goosebumps as a chill crawled its way from her heart down to her tensed up limbs.

"I-"

Itachi's hand flew up to quiet her. His fingers stretched out so far they almost seemed to be attempting to detach from his palm.

Mariko relented, the thick darkness of the night making her feel vulnerable. A thick musk drifted under her nose and she took a shaky step back, her heel quietly sinking down and the crunching screams of dead foliage were silenced as quickly as they had erupted.

The smell had acutely knocked the wind from her lungs, leaving her breathless. Not the kind of breathless that someone experienced when they looked upon a precious jewel or a look at the stars, but the kind of breathless that a person got right before they passed out or when they accidentally skipped the last stair on a staircase.

She was so preoccupied with trying to identify the source of the stench that she almost didn't see the eyes staring them down from behind the trees.

Itachi must have smelled or sensed her fear as he whispered for her not to move. His overly outstretched hand drifted back towards her as if he wanted to touch her.

The snouts appeared first; five long noses dripping wet and tattered cracked mouths tightly curled. Protruding underneath what little lips they actually had were long broken fangs glistening from the saliva and blood that soaked them. Mariko squinted and spotted yellow maggots crawling across the tongues that rolled across their teeth.

"Oh God Itachi..." Mariko squeaked despite herself. She felt nausea pool at the pit of her stomach. "What kind of dogs are they?"

"Shhh, don't panic...They're hell hounds."

Even as the darkness gave birth to these monstrosities, slowly revealing the rest of their bodies as they crept closer, she almost rolled her eyes at their name. There wasn't a less cliché name in existence? Her life was so...typical.

The hounds were gaunt to the point of emaciation, the desiccated skin pulled tightly over sharp bones threatening to burst out. Their complexions were a decaying grey and their ruby eyes pushed deep into their sockets, making them appear as skeletons recently disinterred from the grave.

Unclean and apparently suffering from the suppurations of their malformed flesh, Mariko realized that it was the canines giving off the odor, an eerie, sickening odor of decay and decomposition; of death and corruption.

"So, I'm just going to assume that you read about these from the book. Any ideas?" Mariko whispered, resisting the urge to grab a kunai. The hounds had formed a line, their snouts twitching as they smelled them.

"No not really... the book didn't have much about them, other than they are a dangerous threat. The zealots were the pawns...these are the rooks and knights-"

"This isn't a game of chess!" Mariko hissed through her teeth. Her head was ready to explode.

A deep rumbling and then one of the hounds tilted his head. "Humans want to play games. Humans like games." It said, it's speech prehistoric but full of humor.

Mariko sputtered and coughed on the sudden lurch of bile that had flown into the back of her throat.

"Itachi, the dogs are talking...the _dogs_ are _talking_."

"Shhh..."

Another hound turned towards the others, a wet and rocky laugh tumbling from its throat. "Humans won't like this game. Humans won't like this game at all." The others all joined in, their laughs equally revolting.

The pack started to encircle them slowly, their gigantic paws kicking up damp shrubbery and pine needles. Their long curved claws stirred up the mud being trampled beneath.

The largest hound, what Mariko presumed to be the alpha, turned its vermillion eyes and bore them into her own. "Hounds like this game. Hounds love this game. Hounds hungry. Always hungry. Ever hungry."

"Ever hungry." They all agreed in unison, a twisted anthem if she ever heard one.

"Itachi..." Mariko whispered again.

"Female scared and weak. Master wants this female. Why this female? Female reeks of fear."

The alpha hound snarled and bared his teeth at the one speaking. "Master's orders." The other's ears flattened and it ducked it's head down lower, but a low growl still toppled around in its chest.

Another hound eyed Itachi and raised his hackles. "Male reeks of anger. Male reeks of anger." He declared to the others in a sing song provoking tone. The taunting hound took another loud sniff, its nostrils flaring. "Male smells strong. We eat the male. Master only wants female. Male put up good fight. We eat male." A whine blended with snarl. "Hungry. Hungry. So hungry. Always hungry. Ever hungry."

"Ever hungry." They all chanted once more. Their voices near hysterics as they merged with barks and howls and snaps. Their paws pranced about in anticipation as their circle grew tighter and as they circled faster. Mariko was fighting dizziness gazing at their constant movement of fur.

"Let us pass. If you let us be on our way no harm will come to you." Itachi announced his voice firm. He had quietly slid a kunai from his sleeve and it was now resting patiently in his palm, waiting for its orders.

Mariko momentarily wondered the actual amount of weapons he had hidden on his body.

The alpha chuckled and it crouched low, its joints tensing up waiting to pounce. "No pass. Masters orders. Hounds take female. Hounds eat male. Hounds eat male. Hounds eat. Eat. Eat. Eat. Eat."

The hounds were shuddering with nervous anticipation now, their hackles raised, gnashing their teeth and feigning attacks.

Mariko swallowed hard and shook her head, the hounds screaming for their food ringing in and out of her ears. Her mark was shuddering, a thick pulse vibrating beneath her skin. She was positive that it was actually stronger than the pulse inside her chest now.

"Eat. Eat. Eat."

Wrath and fear and confusion all three wrestled for domination in her mind. She felt a hard pressure building behind her forehead. Taking a deep breath through her nose and out her mouth, she tried to calm herself, but something kept building within. She couldn't place it but even through the chaos she knew she wanted one thing.

"Sharingan. Genjutsu."

With Itachi's words slicing an invisible sword through the tension, and all was silent for a moment. Then two hounds lunged at each other, fangs sinking into each other's throats. Their bodies mangled into a frantic moving ball of violence. They crashed into the underbrush loudly. Their snarls were deafening.

The Alpha barked angrily. "Male smart. Male strong. Male has tricks. Eye tricks."

One dog, unable to wait any longer, lunged and Mariko reflexively roundhouse kicked it in the chin, sending its throat right into Itachi's outstretched arm and into a waiting kunai. The animal slumped to the ground with a faint wheeze. Its limbs twitched as it tried to escape the suffocating blade in its windpipe before its eyes rolled into white marbles.

The alpha snapped his powerful jaws and his growl shook the ground beneath them. It was obviously furious that his pack was so quickly being dismantled. He glared at Mariko and then trained his eyes on Itachi but made no move to attack. He just waited, licking drool from his mouth.

The remaining two hounds attacked Itachi simultaneously.

Itachi reacted quickly and he entrapped one in a jutsu of fire, the flames burning up the hound quickly, sending up smoke and the smell of burning flesh.

The alpha lunged at Mariko as she was distracted by the scene. She fell down hard and squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for something to pierce her flesh, a fang or a claw or both but all she saw was the Alpha standing stiff above her, her hand sticking through its chest as she sent out blue lighting into its heart. She released her jutsu and leaned back just far enough for its weak snapping jaws to miss her cheek. The hound whined and quietly laughed. "Female stronger. Hounds have tricks." His words cut off with a gurgling and his eyes glazed over as it fell right on top of her.

The sudden weight made her head spin; she heaved in a breath and tried to wiggle from underneath the foul smelling carcass.

Her chest constricted in panic. She was stuck. She was too weak to escape and now she was going to suffocate underneath this beast. The pounding in her head was driving her crazy. She thrashed about wildly, trying to make any kind of progress.

A slurping noise to her left drew her attention. She saw the genjutsu ensnared hound lapping at the bloody exposed entrails of his fellow hound he had just killed.

She turned her head to the side and retched hard. She ended up losing her lunch after all. She fought the urge to vomit again as the puke started to pool around her neck. It still didn't smell as bad as the hounds.

Her watery eyes widened as the animal slowly turned towards her. Mariko grunted and huffed but the alpha's body didn't as much as budge.

The hound stumbled towards her. "Master's orders but...hungry. So hungry. Ever hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Hungry. Eat. Eat. Eat. Eat."

Mariko screamed, ear piercing and feral, and the animal bared its fangs and leapt for her throat.

She felt a foreign surge of strength and she pushed the body off of her like it was suddenly a stuffed toy. She rolled to her left, causing the attacking dog missing its target and stumbling over its head.

With the sudden gift of power, she didn't feel fear. She didn't feel anger. She didn't feel anything at all.

Leaping at the hound she knocked him to the ground with her shoulder.

The hound went to bite at her once more but timing it just right, she stabbed the hound through its mouth into the bottom of its jaw, pinning it to the ground.

Mad with pain, starvation, and the smell of blood, the animal still fought to get a chunk of her despite being impaled to the earth like a lawn decoration.

Her skin humming she slammed the heel of her boot on the hilt of the knife, driving it further down.

She placed her palms in its mouth, right underneath the dog's nose. The small teeth there sank into her flesh. She eyed the small scarlet streams that started pouring down her wrists. She pushed up with all her strength, her foot digging down on the bottom jaw and her hands pushing up at the top one. She pushed and pushed and with a final cry she heard a deafening snap and the dog went slack.

Shoving the head over with the sole of her shoe, she yanked the kunai out if its mouth with more force than needed.

It was too easy.

She thought she heard Itachi say something to her but she wasn't ready to speak. Her head rumbled like her ears were submerged in water.

"I think I'm going to be sick again." She muttered her own voice thunderous in her skull. She managed to make it behind a tree before retching up anything that was left on her stomach.

She heard Itachi mumble something again as she was wiping off her mouth on her sleeve.

"What?" She barked, her voice cracked and tired. "Sorry I was kind of in the middle of something."

"You shouldn't have been able to do that." He muttered. He looked utterly confused. His brow was furrowed as if he was trying to calculate a difficult equation.

"Shouldn't have been able to do what?" She huffed irritated as she stood on shuddering legs, her stomach feeling tender and her teeth feeling gritty. She spat unsophisticated like, into the dirt.

Itachi stared at her, looking concerned and confused and dare she say almost scared. "Besides the fact that you managed to throw a 300 pound wolf off of you like it was a blanket..." He pointed across the field through the tree line, before roughly gesturing to the animal lying at her feet. "You snapped that hounds jaw with your bare hands."

She lowered her head and thought for a moment before deciding to play it cool. Of course she did that, it didn't surprise her in the slightest. (A big lie.) She looked up at Itachi through her eyebrows. "Your point?"

Itachi shook his head vigorously. "Among domestic and wild canines, the strongest bites weigh in, at most, 556 pounds per square inch; Normal canines that is." He poked her good arm. "I've seen you shirtless, and with your muscles, it's impossible that you would be able to stop that monster from snapping your arms off."

Her face burst into flames. She wanted to snap back at him. "Well...I did it. Maybe you just embarrassed for underestimating me." She grumbled.

A curious look crossed his face and he reached over and pushed back her sleeve. Mariko's mark was now reaching across her collarbone.

"What?"

He shook his head again, a few strands of black hair falling into his face and resting against his cheeks. He looked at her again, his expression once again unreadable. "Ah...nothing."

His hand hesitated on her skin. She slowly counted to the three and it was still there, warm and comforting.

"What are you doing?"

"Thinking."

He stared at her for a few moments. His eyes lingered on hers. Mariko stopped counting. She could feel her cheeks getting redder as the seconds passed but she couldn't look away.

He finally pulled her shirtsleeve back down to its proper place. "I don't think that's the last we will be seeing of those dogs."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because they're gone."

Mariko whipped her head around. He was right. Not even a speck of blood was behind. It was if the forest floor hadn't even been touched in years.

"What?"

"Don't panic. All we can do is keep moving."

He said it all so calmly. Mariko bowed her head and shrugged. "Whatever I don't even care anymore."

"Now, quit pouting. Here." He reached into his bag and handed her a canteen of water. "Rinse your mouth out with that. You got any scratches you need taken care of?"

"Just my palms." She held out her hands, a little bit of blood still trickling down her wrists. Wow. She had bled a lot and didn't even notice. She felt a hint of queasiness.

She pointed to his neck. "Looks like you got a little something there too. Here bandage up my hands and I'll fix up your neck. Teamwork makes the dream work after all."

Itachi rolled his eyes as he dug the supplies from his bag. "You just rhymed 'work' with 'work'."

Itachi wrapped her hands up slowly. Mariko watched as he carefully Snaked the bandage around her hand in steady circles. He sure was taking his time. She liked him holding her hands.

She beat that thought away with a stick. Why was she so hung up on him lately? Acting like a lovestruck kid...it was ridiculous. It was shameful.

Okay, maybe she did have a microscopic size infatuation with him. She could be man enough to admit that.

Gosh she was tired of denying it.

He finished up and tilted his head so she could start mending his wound.

She tried the hide her trembling fingers as she clumsily fumbled with the bandages

She watched his Adam's apple as he swallowed hard. Was he just as nervous as she was?

As she worked she could watch his pulse beneath his skin beat steadily. It was hypnotic, like a living clock.

She took her time, pressing her fingers to the dips and curves in his throat. They fluttered across the surface and eventually she saw goose bumps rise underneath her touch.

She could do this for hours.

Itachi had admitted to himself how beautiful she was to him. Lying a few feet away from him, her silhouette the only thing he could he could make out with his normal vision, aside from an occasional flash of her yellow eyes darting around.

He had forgiven her for her outburst from the night before. It wasn't her. It was the curse talking. It didn't even sound like her voice coming out but it had enraged him regardless.

He shut his eyes and inhaled deeply and discreetly. Mariko, even smelling like sweat and earth and pond water, still managed to smell like cinnamon.

He took another breath and then another, her scent calming him and making him drowsy. He savored it. He imagined how outraged she would be if she knew that he was smelling her. He knew it was creepy but he couldn't stop. Every time she would breeze by him in her stormy manner, he would swallow instinctively when it would waft up to his nose, like a cartoon smoke finger rising from a pie, beckoning him to come closer to just have a little taste.

Yes, he was, by definition, a creep.

His tendons jerked and his Sharingan flashed on reflexively when he felt something brush against his hand. His eyes landed on a wide eyed Mariko, her tiny frame now closer to him, her hand resting in his opened palm.

His heart leapt into his throat,

"Um..." was all he managed to say. Words stuck to the inner walls of his throat.

"Is this okay?" She whispered softly. She sounded sheepish and was looking startled at his kekki genaki.

"I'm so tired but I'm afraid to sleep because of the nightmares."

She sounded exhausted. It must be exhausting being so abrasive and acting like the toughest person in the room all the time.

And then, who was he to judge her from putting up a front? Wasn't he really just the biggest actor of them all?

The real question was this: was this how she wanted to be around him? Why was she so unguarded? He didn't dare ask. He didn't want to ruin this...whatever this was.

He wrapped his hand around her cool bandaged one and squeezed, nodding slowly. Her scent, so close and acute now made his head swim.

They stared at each other for a while. They said nothing, just took in one another's faces.

Her eyelids looked heavy.

"Sleep." He reached over and pushed her hair from her face.

It was such a natural gesture. It was so easy.

"I promise I'll wake you up if any more bad dreams come to call." He muttered.

"You promise?"

God she was being adorable.

"I promise."

She ducked her head and nestled closer, curving her body to his.

Before he realized what he was doing, he was running his hand through her hair, starting from her temples and running his fingers through the silk.

This is not ok. This is not ok.

But it definitely felt more than ok.

Very much so.


	9. Excuses

BEFORE

TAMA

Things were changing. It was subtle at first, and then rolled into a snowball that had managed to gain substantial speed.

Makoto was staying out later and later into the evening. He would come home more ragged and more eccentric.

Tama lay in bed alone for the third night in a row. It was funny how things could change in, what might as well be an instant. Less than two weeks ago she could never have imagined sleeping peacefully without him by her side. Now she would flinch as soon as she heard his boots hit their hardwood floor.

Squinting from the pale morning light seeping into the window, she rolled over on the squeaky bed. Settling into a tight ball on her side, she squeezed her swollen eyes shut

Last night the baby was extra fussy and Makoto got so frustrated he threw a plate on the floor and shattered it.

Breaking her normally calm disposition, she had immediately leapt to her feet. She put the infant in the cradle and shut the bedroom door. She stormed back into the room.

"Have you lost your mind?" Tama balled her fists. She unconsciously stood between him and the infant screaming in the next room. "She's just a baby she-"

A sharp sting cut her off. She clenched her jaw shut but her eyes stared at him in shock.

There was a moment of suffocating silence. He had just slapped her. Her husband had just struck her.

Makoto nostrils were flaring wide. His eyes normally filled with bright warmth were flat and blackened to a sinisterly level in the dull evening light.

The moment broke.

Makoto hit her again. The sound was drowned out by the baby's wail.

When he struck her the third time she fell to the floor, landing hard on her hip.

Her husband bent and drug her back to her feet by her shirt collar.

It occurred to Tama to fight back, to scream, to grab the baby and run, but she couldn't. All she could think about was the ringing in her ears and the sharp pain in her face as he drew his fist back once more.

She squeezed her eyes shut and waited.

When the pain never came she looked up.

Makoto was staring at her, panting like a thirsty animal. He was still clenching her tunic with white knuckles.

A shift came over him. His eyes darted to his fist, still poised in the air ready to strike. Eyebrows arched and eyes tight, he released his grip.

Tama fell to the floor with a soft cry as she landed on the same hip as before, pain running up her side.

Makoto stared at his hands, covered in his wife's blood.

One choked moan, then he had sprinted out the door, leaving Tama in a tide of confusion.

She jerked awake when she heard the door creak open. Sitting up she pressed her back against the wall and pulled her knees up to her chin.

He stumbled in. His eyes were puffy and red and Tama could smell the booze rising from his mouth.

On shaking legs he fell to his knees next to their bed and grabbed her by the waist. He sobbed. A hand pressed to his mouth to muffle is cries so he wouldn't wake up the baby.

He kept saying he was sorry and that he lost his temper. That he felt like something was wrong with him. He felt sick.

"You're just stressed that's all. Maybe you need a couple of days to rest." The excuses tumbled from her lips. She didn't know how because all of her father's words mocking their union were the only things racing through her mind.

Tama brushed shaking hands over his head, watching the loose strand tumble under her fingers.

"The three of us, as soon as spring comes, can go on a nice family getaway. Maybe we can go to a lake. We can go somewhere relaxing for a while. Doesn't that sound nice?"

The whisper came out sounding like a plea rather than words of affection.


	10. Day 6

DAY 6

Tired of eating their bland rations, Mariko and Itachi had snared a few unfortunate small animals on their hike that day. Now they were cleaning up their mess with full bellies.

Itachi hoped that Mariko was proud of the meal she had cooked. He had already complemented it a number of times while they sat on their mats across from each other. A flicker of a fire was between them.

"Is it normal to feel this unsettled because we weren't attacked today?" she questioned as she stoked the fire with a thick branch.

Itachi eyed the small pieces of bark that fell from it's place and sank down to join the glowing embers below, consumed by the intense heat

"I doubt it, but the night is still young." Itachi muttered. A small smirk played on his lips as he wiped off their greasy eating utensils with semi-clean rag.

Finishing up, he spread another rag on a large rock and lined up the spoons, forks, and knives next to each other to dry. Leaning hard to his left, her rummaged through his bag until he found a couple of bottles.

he smirked as he watched Mariko's mouth flatten. "And how did those make it this far with those still intact?" She grumbled, "My poor blanket looks pitiful." She stuck out her lower lip and played with the frayed edging.

he merely shrugged as he dropped the alcohol into her lap before getting comfortable in his spot once more.

Mariko popped the top off of her drink and inhaled. It probably wasn't anything she would like. She took a hurried sip, probably not wanting to seem like a priss. Although she was probably desperate to deaden her senses like he was.

She grimaced when she swallowed and tried to cough discreetly. "You know, I would have never pegged you as the drinking type."

Itachi took a swig and leaned back on his elbows. "What exactly is a drinking type?"

"Well, not someone who is so...old."

Itachi snorted and played with the label on his bottle. "We're the same age."

"Yeah but you're so mature, suave, and cool." Mariko took another drink. She furrowed her brow and did a bad imitation of his voice. "Alcohol clouds the mind, it's always important to keep a clear head." She clicked her tongue. "That sounds something like you would say."

Itachi tossed his head back and roared in laughter.

Mariko jumped a little at the sound and then grinned. She looked amused at the fact that she made him laugh so hard. As she should be.

He composed himself, pressing a hand to his stomach. "Okay, I do not sound like that."

"Yeah, you kind of do."

" _Okay_..." he muttered, still smiling into his beverage.

Mariko took another drink, a heftier one. "So...change of subject. What do you actually do?"

Itachi's face scrunched up slightly. He didn't want to talk about that in the slightest. "Are you asking me what my job consists of?"

"No. I know what your job consists of, from word of mouth at least. What is your day to day like? Your home life. Your _normal_ life."

"Well normal is relative... but my life is different every day. I never know where I'll be, who I'll be with, or when I will be back."

Mariko looked at her feet. Looking depressed as she thumbed the bottle cap resting in her palm.

He pretended he didn't notice and went on. "When I actually do have some time at home with days to myself, I usually wake up with a cup of green tea and watch the sunrise.

Mariko leaned up a little and waved her hands slightly. "Wait, wait, wait, you get up that early on your days off?"

"Yes" he did a mock impression of her interpretation of his own voice. "It's a pity to waste the day isn't it?"

She tried to not to smile but couldn't help herself. "I need a lot of sleep, nothing wrong with that... then what do you do?"

He put his half full bottle to the side and reclined on his own side, loosely clasping his hands together. "After I've woken up I do a light or heavy workout; Refresh on some taijutsu patterns and the like. Then depending on my mood, I'll go fishing or tend to my garden."

Mariko sat up all the way and hunched over, huddling deeper within her blanket. "You have a garden?"

"Yeah." He replied, suspicious of her sudden interest. Was she going to tease him?

"Flower or food?"

He grinned at her two categories. "Mostly flowers and ferns...but I do have a couple of vegetable plants as well."

"Huh...I've never tried to grow anything. But I've always wanted to."

He felt a bud off warmth in his chest as he watched her eyes brighten in interest. He was also relieved that she wasn't going to give him a hard time.

"Maybe I could teach you."

This. This right here is why he didn't drink. Loose lips were the most dangerous. Careless words, no matter how true, can lead to trouble.

But the way she was staring at him now, made it really difficult to regret his words.

"Maybe you can..." she mumbled as her middle and pointer finger pushed her bangs aside, sweeping across her forehead in a smooth curve. "Anywhere you like to go for fun?"

He got up and grabbed her bottle from her.

"Hey..."

"I wanted you to relax, not get hammered. " He tossed the two bottles into the forest.

"A place I like to go for fun..." He thought as he laid back and got comfortable once more. It had seemed like a century since he had much time for fun. And as soon as he gets a vacation he spends it trekking up a seemingly never ending mountain with an extremely attractive possessed woman.

He chastised himself silently for even thinking the word 'attractive'.

"Well, there is this really old school small town a few miles from my home. And I do mean old school. Everything there is traditional. They have this one shop owned by this couple that makes the best sweets. Any pastry you can think of and they will make it."

Itachi's voice trailed off as he noticed her staring at him. He felt his cheeks redden and his eyes were suddenly very preoccupied with looking at the tree line.

"What about you? What is a day in your life like?"

She made a disdainful noise from the back of her throat. "Boring, you don't want to hear about that."

Her words sounded slightly slurred. Maybe he should have taken away her drink sooner. Had she had even one ounce of alcohol before? Surely her tolerance wasn't this low.

"Yes I do." He persisted. "Tell me."

She sighed and flopped backwards onto her sleeping bag, spreading out her arms on either side of her head. "Well I get up whenever I feel like it. I eat breakfast, most of the time it's a banana or something. I don't have to work until noon so I usually watch game shows on TV until then...or something." She picked at a cuticle on her thumb.

"Where do you work?"

"I'm a delivery girl for Ichiraku Ramen."

She muttered the sentence like she was ashamed.

"Anyways, I work from twelve to eight every day except Saturdays. When I clock out I grab a bite to eat..."

"And what do you do for fun?"

"I love to read. I'm not picky either. I'll read any genre you throw at me. I've even read first draft research papers from older academy students just for the heck of it. Um...I used to have a cat, Chichi, but one morning I accidentally left my bedroom window open and she ran away."

"Why don't you get another one?"

Mariko shrugged. "I don't know. I just haven't."

"Anything else?" He knew he was prying but he just had to get the truth from her. He wasn't sure why, but every ounce of information she gave him, every peek she revealed about herself, felt like a personal gift to him.

She sat up, looking perplexed. "No, not really."

"No?"

A pink flush crept into her neck and up to her cheeks. "Okay so...I go to a dancing class on Tuesday and Thursday mornings."

He slapped his knees and sat up, crossing his legs. "I knew it! I knew you had some sort of training. What kind of dancing?"

The pink slowly subsided in her face but lingered on her ears. "We do whatever really. We've learned dances from many cultures..."

"Maybe you can show me sometime."

 _What_. Had he lost his mind? Maybe he had a low tolerance for booze. He couldn't get the image of her twisting hips and lithe arms circled around his neck out of his head.

Mariko was silent for a minute. She stared at him with a calm face before standing to her feet.

He prepared for the slap that he knew was coming. And he so deserved it. He was being a shameless flirt.

She crouched on her heels right in front of him. Her face was a few inches away. Itachi took note of the small mole on the top of her right cheekbone as he tried to distract himself from her close proximity. Too close.

"Maybe I can show you right now."

His chest constricted. He started to shake his head. "Mariko, no, I-"

"Shhh!" Her sudden change in her demeanor startled him, but then he heard it. A low hum was coming from a distance.

Leaping to their feet and suddenly very sober, she started slinging stuff into their bags while he stomped out the remaining embers of their fire.

Then they were crouching, slinking across the ground in the dark like a pair of panthers on the hunt for their next meal.

"Shouldn't we be going away from the noise?"

He glared at her and forceful shoved a finger against his lips to make her shut up. If they could get the element of surprise and got rid of whatever this was quickly, the faster they could find a safe place to rest for the night. They couldn't leave anything to chance, if they didn't find them now, the reverse would happen later.

They followed the noise until they came to a pit, about a dozen feet deep.

Inside a small altar of stones was set up. Surrounding this altar were zealots. They were kneeling on the hard ground, their foreheads pressed into the dirt, and their hands over their ears.

Crouching behind a pair of rocks, Itachi began counting.

"How many do you think there are?"

"There are around twenty."

The zealots continued their chanting. It reminded Itachi of buzzing flies. It rang in his ears.

"What are they doing? What should we do?"

"Wait here."

"No, I can help!" She fired back, reaching out and grabbing his jacket sleeve.

"No please just wait here." He shrugged her off.

Flashing on his sharingan, He slid into the pit. The gravel scraped against his back through his shirt. Standing at the bottom and ignoring the painful pounding in his chest, he pulled out his kunai.

Mariko kept her back pressed into the cool stone. Her curiosity almost got the better of her, but even in her buzzed state, she knew better than to watch what was happening below. He was sparing her from the violence. She didn't know why, she had seen plenty in her day.

She was grateful though, and this might be the drinks talking, but she felt woozy and hoped she wouldn't have to see blood for at least an hour or two. (Wouldn't that be a treat?)

She sighed and pressed four fingertips to her throbbing temples. She just wanted to be around the warm campfire again. She knew she should have known better than to expect a nice relaxing evening.

After a few minutes, her curiosity of her when she heard crunching gravel, and she peeked over the edge of the boulder.

He grimaced at her, obviously annoyed that she hadn't waited patiently for him to come back. She didn't care. He was lucky that she had even stayed put in the first place.

"Come on they won't bother us anymore." She was still whispering and she was still nervous, like something could pop out at any minute. She motioned him over.

Itachi didn't move. Suddenly his head was inclined. "Wait..." he said as he brought up his hand.

What was he doing?

He started sifting over corpses.

"Come on we need to go!" Mariko hissed. She clenched and unclenched her jaw impatiently.

"Not yet." He said so quietly that she almost missed it. "I need to look..."

She let out a rough frustrated breath. "For what? Come. On."

Finally standing over the altar, he lifted some of the rocks and pulled out a stone the size of his palm. He tested its weight and turned it over in his hand.

What did he want with a pebble?

"What is that?"

Itachi shook his head still staring at the object resting in his hand. "It's a rune stone."

He leapt up the hill and stood next to her, holding it out so she could look.

It was gray and had many small carvings of a forgotten, ancient language etched in blue. They scattered across its surface in tiny spirals.

"What does it do?" she asked, tilting her head back and forth as she looked.

"Nothing, most likely. A long time ago if you could find all of the stones and put them together they would make a story or a map or something. If I'm remembering correctly."

"Are there any more?"

"No. But maybe we will come across some. if not..." he tossed her the stone. "Hold onto it and give it to the leaf's scholars when you get home. I'm sure they would love to study it.

Mariko shoved it into her pocket, feeling the weight of it against her thigh, the heat from Itachi's palm still radiating from its surface. She blushed slightly. It, for some reason, felt intimate.

"How did you know it was down there?"

Itachi paused and thought hard. He stared at her like he wanted to take the stone back. "It was just a feeling I guess. I felt pulled to it."

"You're crazy."

Shrugging on their bags they set out once again, to find a safe place to rest for the night.

"Itachi you scare me sometimes. You took out all of them like they were nothing." She muttered, breaking the silence.

She said the sentence like a boring dictionary definition. She had mentioned it in offhanded sarcasm, but she thought she saw some color drain from his face. "Good." He muttered. "You should be scared of me."


	11. Day 7

DAY 7

"Now remember, the lightning release is generated by increasing the vibrations in your chakra network. So just focus on that."

"Yes, yes I know."

"Now take a deep breath."

Mariko obeyed, sucking in deep through her nose, filling up her lungs to the brim.

"Now try and channel all of that humming, energized chakra into your hands." Itachi ran a thumb up his forearm. "Feel it traveling through every vein."

Mariko scrunched up her face, like she got a whiff of something she didn't expect to. Her eyes squinted and she grunted just a bit until a few sparks sprouted from her fingertips.

She let out the breath she had been holding. "This is pathetic."

"You're tired and we've been walking all morning. You'll figure it out." He nodded once, his chin drawing closer to his neck.

"I've never created a jutsu before."

"Every good ninja has their trademark technique."

She growled, low and frustrated as she took a couple of quick extra steps to catch up with him. "I'm not a good ninja. I'm not one at all. Or did I just imagine that we went over that?"

"Yeah we went over it. But you're wrong. You're a ninja. You can fight."

"Any creature that's in danger fights for their life." He watched as she lifted her hands and then let them fall against her thighs with a slap.

Looking back to his walking feet, Itachi kicked a pebble out of his path. He watched it tumble forward until it collided with a tree. "There's something within you Mariko. Something strong and wild."

"What do you mean by that?"

Why does she always assume everything was meant as an insult? "You might be a lightning user but your spirit is a whirlwind. If you work hard you can be incredible. You're so amazing already but if you channel that passion within you, you could be unstoppable."

He looked over and she was staring at him. Her rosebud lips slightly parted to reveal her small, straight teeth.

He felt a wave of absolute affection and a hint of guardedness. "Why are you staring at me?"

She shook her head but kept staring at him out of the corner of her eyes. They were searching for something buried underneath his skin.

Mariko paced around their small camp, trying to tire herself so she could fall asleep and stay asleep.

Once again, like the day before, it had been uneventful. No sign of a threat anywhere. It had been a peaceful walk through the woods with an old friend.

It didn't reassure her, it unnerved her.

It was only a matter of time before some other creature sought them out to rip her apart.

Her eyes scanned the darkness between the trees. She was just waiting to catch a pair of red eyes staring at her.

A sneaky tree root took advantage of her distractions and caught the toe of her boot, causing her to propel forward.

Catching herself with her hands, she groaned through clenched lips when the hard ground made contact with the cuts on her hands. She fell to her knees and the dust left an unpleasant texture on her teeth. A cold sweat poured down her face and hot tears stung her eyes, she couldn't take much more, and the stress was breaking her. She wished that Itachi had saved the rest of that alcohol.

Looking over her shoulder she stared at Itachi's sleeping form. His hair crept over his face as he rolled over on his back. Her resolve about trusting Itachi was more weak than strong. She was just now having the time to really think about it.

When she graduated from the academy she took vows. Serious vows that she had meant. She would have never imagined that those vows would be brought into question.

Although as she grew older. As friends left and surpassed her and left her behind, as the government became brutally honest. There were flaws. Konoha had flaws in its structural integrity as a society, but what society didn't have flaws? Maybe she should have questioned those flaws sooner instead of just turning a blind eye and hoping they go away.

No government was perfect. And she loved the leaf. But something was, or at least, had been off. She could feel it in her gut. Something was off about this man's past in particular. She knew there was something bigger going on behind the scene, something that involved Itachi.

The mark, dully throbbing like usual, grabbed her attention. Sitting up on bruised knees, she pulled at her shirt and looked down into the collar. She held back a hiss of pain as the cloth brushed against her skin. The strained green veins were reaching across her chest like a needy lover.

"Oh...that looks painful."

Mariko's head darted up. If her reflexes were on par she would've at least gasped in surprise. All she did was stare open mouthed at the old woman standing in front of her.

From her head to her toes she was stark white. She almost glowed in the moonlight. It hurt Mariko's eyes just looking at her.

"You here to kill me too?"

The woman smiled. "I'm a friend." In wrinkly hands, she held out a skinny package wrapped in navy velvet. "I don't have a lot of time, so please, take this."

Mariko slowly stood to her feet. "How do I know...you're not just a trick?"

The woman laughed and her head darted down slightly. "You can't I guess."

Mariko blinked rapidly, and shook her head a little. Everything in her head was telling her to get to a weapon; to wake Itachi; to do something. And yet...

"Yeah...as weird as it is, I do trust you."

The old woman beamed and her eyes were moist, as if Mariko gave her the most heartwarming gift.

"I know the journey you're going through is difficult. You will need all the help you can get." She fingered the velvet, her creased fingers dusting over the small golden rope that held it in place. "The demon, the Tengu's name is Nevorax."

Mariko finally had a name for the monster. Nevorax. The name by itself was sinister.

"He is smart, cunning, and stubborn. All that is known about him is in the heart of the book that Fukiyo gave to you."

Mariko's heart sank. The book was near ruined. Hopefully the part about the Tengu was legible.

The old woman stepped closer. "Take this. You will need it."

Mariko shuffled forward. Her feet moved like she was wading in wet cement.

The old woman bit her lip. "I-I don't have a lot of time." She repeated in a hushed tone, leaning forward on her toes. Her shaking arms held the parcel out further.

Mariko lifted the package. It was sturdy. When she pulled at the gold tie, her mouth fell open in shock along with the wrapping.


	12. Day 8

DAY 8

In the past two days, aside from stumbling across the zealots. The only thing that had bothered them were a couple of scrawny hellhounds.

They killed them off easily, making quick work of the two animals.

They weren't the dogs from before. These two were small and inexperienced and frankly, Itachi felt insulted. If the demon was going to be toying with them he could at least try.

In the first rays of that morning's light, Itachi had awoken to Mariko hunched over the clunky book. She had held it close to her face squinting her eyes as she struggled to read the words. The ink was now smeared across the old pages.

She had told him that she believes the demon is actually a Tengu named Nevorax.

He didn't ask how she came to that conclusion. All he could think about was how tired she looked.

Itachi kept getting the feeling that Mariko wanted something horrible to happen. She wanted something to come along and attack them. He could see it in her fidgety demeanor. Her feet as well as her hands were always twitchy. Maybe she was using her lightning style to keep her on her toes.

Was it her nerves? Could she just not take the stress of waiting for threats?

Was it her Mark? Was it extremely painful? Was it messing with her mind so much that she was actually wishing for death?

Was it him? Maybe she had never really trusted him.

In all his life Itachi had always been relatively self-assured. He somehow always knew when and where something would happen. He knew what people were most likely to do before they did it.

Only around Mariko was there this air of ambiguity. One moment she was as easy to read as a children's book, the next she might as well have been that rune stone; foreign and impossible to decipher.

They kept walking, they had to keep going or they wouldn't get there in time. The twelfth day was nipping at their heels and the mark was nipping her cheeks.

They helped each other over large boulders and natural debris. The incline they were ascending was immensely steep.

He felt that he should be able to see the top very soon.

"Let's play that game again." Itachi said wanting to keep her talking. "The one from the boat."

"A-alright". Mariko said groaning as she pushed herself up a slab of granite. "You first."

"Okay well. Once, in the academy, I caught a kid copying my answers on a test. Instead of telling the instructor, I started writing the wrong answers and then switching them to the correct ones when he wasn't looking."

Itachi paused and placed his hands on his knees, laughing hard. "You can imagine his surprise when we received our scores."

He reached out to help her over a large rotting log and Mariko took it without question. She was laughing, he assumed not only at his story (which wasn't that funny) but just at how hard he was laughing at himself.

"I didn't know you could do something so deviant"

Mariko's eyes widened slightly and immediately cleared her throat uncomfortably.

Itachi had an unwelcome roll in his stomach. She didn't mean anything by her comment. He knew. But still…

"Kid deserved it anyways. I hate cheaters. Nothing good about 'em." Mariko's face darkened. Was there some boy out there that had broken her heart before? Itachi would try to work in that question in a later conversation.

"Wait, I have one."

Itachi felt one of her fingers link with his pointer. Never would he have believed that the wind could be knocked from his chest from the smallest touch.

She lightly pulled him to a stop.

Mariko bit her lip and Itachi felt his mouth go dry.

"During the first week of our second year..." she muttered, her eyes darting to the ground. "...I was the one who cut a chunk off of your ponytail."

Itachi stared at her. It took her a moment to realize what she was talking about. "Why did you do that?"

"Well that was before we had really had a chance to spend time together. I was jealous of your popularity, annoyed that you were the teacher's pet, and you just wouldn't get your hair off my desk." Her eyes bugged a little as if just the memory annoyed her.

He now remembered that day perfectly clear. It was more than a little chunk. It was half of his ponytail. His parents had been so upset. They had believed that he had done it to himself. It was one of the times he could remember his father being angry with him. Toddler Sasuke had said that it was the best haircut he had ever seen.

Itachi lifted his hand and poked her in the forehead.

"Ow!"

"That's for getting me into trouble." He flicked her again.

"Stop!"

"And that's for having the worst hair cutting skills known to man and for the name calling."

Itachi smirked and watched her rub her head roughly with her bottom lip poking out. At times she reminded him so much of Sasuke.

Without hesitating, he leaned forward and pressed feather light lips to the little red spot he had made on her skin.

She locked eyes with him, her mouth parted in astonishment. He couldn't stop himself from staring into her eyes for just a moment longer than necessary. She was exhausted, he could see it. He also memorized the shape of the tiny green ring around her pupils.

"That was for being a good sport." Itachi's mouth tipped up in a casual smile.

"Yeah..." She brushed her bangs out of her face as a blush crossed across her cheeks.

He turned and kept leading them up the mountain.


	13. Day 9

DAY 9

Itachi could tell they were extremely close to the summit. The air was getting thinner and colder. He wasn't too proud to admit that he was exhausted. He could only imagine how fatigued Mariko was. Her mark was crawling up her face and down her chest into her clothing hidden from view. It tattooed itself on her ears, making it look like she was wearing earrings.

"Be careful, we are going to have to wade through the stream ahead and it is moving pretty fast. The snow melting during the daytime fills up the-"

"Yeah yeah...Snow melting. Fast water. Got it." Mariko grumbled. She stood in front of him staring down at the water for a few moments; actually, she sat there staring so long that Itachi thought for a moment that she had zoned out again.

As much as he was embarrassed about it later, he had secretly hoped that some barriers would have disintegrated with the chaste, impromptu, forehead kiss he had given her. It apparently had the opposite effect. Mariko had barely spoken to him since the day before.

Abruptly she started walking into the water.

"Remember, take your time, the moss underfoot could be very slippery."

He heard her hiss through her teeth as the icy water reached up to her hips when she got to the deep part. As he walked after her, he suppressed his own grunt of discomfort as the coldness bit at his skin.

Mariko didn't slow down even though he could hear her panting. She was already winded and they weren't even half way across.

Itachi followed closely behind her. He watched his steps carefully; losing his balance more than once on loose rocks and slippery algae that covered the bottom of the stream.

He looked up just as Mariko's feet went out from underneath her. It happened in slow motion, a hand cartwheeling overhead; a stiff leg flying up in the air; until her whole body was rapidly swallowed up by the ravenous river.

He cried out her name, the crisp air making his voice gravelly. He threw himself down in the water, using his arms to surge forward faster. He scrambled frantically over to her and managed to grab her hand, pulling her out of the water.

Sputtering and coughing, Mariko sat up with a large gash across the top of her left eyebrow spilling runny blood down her eye.

With a small gasp, Itachi tried to stop the flow with his fingers.

"Why!?" Her scream pierced his ears and Itachi drew back sharply at the sudden outburst.

Floating leaves and dirt swirled around them in the current as they sat in the now chest deep stream.

Mariko screamed louder, a thick vein protruding from her neck. A string of saliva stretching between her white teeth as her mouth widened around the noise. "Why did you leave me?! You were my best friend, Itachi!"

Her best friend? All he could do was stare at her, not knowing what to say or do. He just swallowed dryly and stared at her like a dumb animal.

"I know..." She let out a rough sob and covered her mouth with her hand. The cold water had given her skin a blue tint.

"I know you had Shisui and that your bond with him was strong, but I needed you too! You were all I had! I had no one else." Angry tears started slipping down her face, mixing with the river water and blood from her scratch. "And then after you cut me out...your family...you...I"

She choked on the air, and the words that she did manage to muster up came out all in a jumbled mess. She slapped her hands to her head with a sharp smack and sank lower in the water.

Itachi felt his heart plummet like a hawk shot straight from the sky.

He let her cry and he was at a loss at what to do. Knowing he should get her out of the frigid water, he couldn't help but just keep observing her. She looked so exhausted. Dark circles hung under her eyes like crescent moons, and, if it was even possible, she looked thinner.

Itachi leaned down and stared into her face, blinking away the pesky droplets that clung desperately to his eyelashes. He swallowed again and stared into her golden eyes. What captivated him to her? The longer he continued to watch her, the more something inside himself softened, like butter in the hot sun. He didn't shove it down this time. He mulled it over and let the entirety thoughts tumble forward.

Even as tattered and upset as she was now, she was still lovely.

A battle of thoughts waged within him. His heart rate rose to an alarming pace.

And just like flicking a switch, he made up his mind.

He gently pulled a still trembling Mariko to her feet and led them across the river. She didn't resist, instead she leaned heavily on him. He could feel her quivering heart against his bicep. The water protested stubbornly, lapping at their legs as they sloshed forward, wanting to keep them in its embraced.

He couldn't believe what he was about to do but there was no stopping it now.

"I think it's time...that I told someone the truth." Itachi muttered as he rung out his shirt, letting the water splatter to the floor loudly.

They sat in a cave that conveniently faced the swift moving river. The light from a vast amount of glowing fungi as well as a few rays of sunlight stretching in from the mouth of the cave kept it from being completely dark.

Mariko sat near the entrance, her back resting against the rock wall, knees pulled up and wrapped tightly around her body, clinging as if her chest would break open if she let go.

The river water had been cold and she tried to warm herself by the little sun that managed to peek in.

Itachi sat next to her, he fiddled with his bag. He seemed nervous which in turn made Mariko nervous. Itachi was never nervous; in fact-sometimes to her displeasure- he had a cool head the majority of the time.

The silence was stretching too long, Mariko shifted uncomfortably. Should she ask him what he wanted to say? She wanted to be prepared. She could sense that it was something heavy.

He stared at her, opening and closing his mouth repeatedly, looking similar to a fish.

Just when she was fixing to break the silence, he suddenly started talking rapidly, like if he didn't get it out now he never would.

He began to unveil a secret mission he had completed. He began by talking about the Uchihas' wretched disposition and their intentions; traitorous intentions to overthrow the Leaf.

She could feel her mouth fall open wider and wider with every detail, she couldn't help it. Her intuition was right. This was the missing piece of the puzzle. This was why he had done what he had done.

"You both were my best friends." He looked over at her, his eyes wide with fervor. "I had to push you away for the sake of the mission and for the sake of the village."

She looked down at his hands shaking. They shook as years and years of tension of the torturous caliber bubbled up from his lips. The words came more coherently now. She could see his resolution growing. "We went into the night, no one was the wiser." He went on describing that night in vivid detail.

She resisted the urge to cover her ears like a toddler as he went into detail about the executions. She felt the hairs on the back of her neck rise. "Please...you don't have to..." She whispered.

He either ignored her or didn't hear her and persisted with his story.

"My father and mother...said that they were proud of me. _Proud_!" He nearly shouted the last end of his sentence. His face crumpled. He started hyperventilating; huffing short rapid gasps between each word. He was unraveling at the seams before her eyes.

He talked about the younger Uchiha, how he had tried to do it quickly and stealthily so they wouldn't be frightened. Most of them didn't even awaken as he slit their throats. "I did it for the village...I keep telling myself...I did it for the village...all for the village...but I don't know... What if..." He choked air "...I see them every night. Every night." Tears started trailing down his face in thick streams. "I hear their screams and I-I". He slammed his fist into his chest. His sorrow was too great.

When he finally let go and cried, it wasn't loud, it was frantic and breathy.

So many things started to click and make sense to Mariko and she started crying with him. She felt his lament as if it were her very own. She bit down hard on her lower lip, trying to muffle her own tears.

Itachi's head flew up when a small sob escaped out of her mouth. She turned her head away, not really sure why she was ashamed. She felt like she had been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

She felt his fingers wrap tightly around her chin, pulling her face back towards him. His mouth parted and his eyes widened. "Are you...are you crying? For me?"

Squeezing her eyes shut she jerked away. "Don't you think you are worth it?" Her words were a whisper.

She stared at him out of the corner of her eye.

He sat there dumbfounded, looking at his feet, looking like a lost child waiting for someone to find him.

Mariko crawled and sat on her knees in front of him. She took his warm sweaty hands, marveling at how her small delicate hands were dwarfed by his large calloused ones.

She stared at the top of his head. "Look at me, Itachi."

He kept looking down. He ran his thumbs absently across her skin.

"Look at me." She said quietly but demanding.

He did. But his red rimmed and moist eyes darted down again after looking at her for a second.

"Don't." he muttered.

"Don't what?" She squeezed his hands. "Itachi, there is something else, isn't there? Please tell me." She whispered, she brushed a stray lock of hair out of his face and tucked it behind his ear.

That was it. With her one touch, she watched the last of his walls crumbled down.

She listened with a growing sickening sensation as he explained his sacrifice, love, and every plan for Sasuke.

"Mariko..." His thumbs continued to trace circles on the top of her hand. "Sasuke must kill me. I must die by my brother's hand."

Her face twisted as if she had been physically slapped. "But...why?" Her jaw quivered. Sasuke had left the village to join that weirdo Orochimaru over two months ago. She couldn't connect the dots. Surely he wasn't serious? Maybe this was some sort of metaphor she was missing.

He sighed shakily, "Sasuke will kill me and he will be the hero-"

"No!" She ripped her hands from his and leapt to her feet. The realization hit her like a ton of bricks.

"Please don't. _Don't_. You've done enough!" With every word she stepped further back.

He didn't move. His face still looking at the ground, his hands stayed where she had dropped it. She started to cry harder and rubbed her arm across her eyes.

"I've completely misjudged you. Everyone..." Her voice rose. She knew she sounded melodramatic but she couldn't stop herself. Does the pain ever end? Is this all there is?

She didn't move. Her chest hurt so much that she was sure if she pressed her hands to her heart, it's blood would pour over them.

She dropped to her knees in front of him once more and took his face into both of her hands; her palms pressing into his cheeks.

"Itachi..." She pulled his limp head up to look at her.

"I'm so sorry..." Her voice cracked, she cursed, and cleared her throat. "Please forgive me." She whispered. "Forgive all of us. We didn't..."

She didn't have any words to describe her guilt.

Itachi's brow crumpled up and fresh unmanly tears started pooling in the corners his bloodshot eyes. He pressed his forehead to hers, his hands and fingers combing tightly into her light brown hair. The relief he felt was unbearable. It was too much. She was too much.

When she pulled away, she did something that maybe he should have seen coming. Maybe if a third party were here it would've been obvious. But it was the last thing he expected.

She kissed him. It wasn't sloppy and needy like that first one a few nights before in the hotel. It was tender, and innocent. The kiss tasted like salt from her tears and bliss itself.

He pulled away and placed a palm on her cheek, tracing his thumb tenderly across her pink, soft lips.

They kissed again. He took the lead this time. When he lowered his mouth to hers, he was gentle, wanting to avoid frightening her. Especially after everything she had been through. He could tell she hadn't kissed many men, and that was just fine. He was endeared to her.

Itachi pulled back and pressed his forehead to hers once more. "What is this?" He asked his voice husky and unrecognizable even to his own ears.

She let out a quiet laugh. "Who knows?" She traced this tip of her nose across the bridge of his. "We've both always been sickeningly complicated, the both of us."

He took a deep breath and prolonged the moment. It had been years since he had been looked at the way she was looking at him right now. He felt a small shiver wiggled down his spine.

"We have to keep moving." A wave of determination washed over him. His resolve became great. "I promise you, Mariko, I will get you to the top of that mountain. I won't let you die."


	14. Nightmares

BEFORE

MAKOTO

"The nightmares are getting worse. Some days I can't tell what's real and what's not anymore. I can't sleep. I can't work. I can't hold my wife or child. I can't do anything. Every day I just go outside and just...am. Then I come back home."

A soft sigh crackled on the other end of the receiver. "I would very much like to come out and evaluate you further in person. Normally I would take appointments here but I would prefer to assess your...situation in your normal routine. Would that be okay with you Mr. Makoto?"

"Yes." He couldn't suppress his sigh of relief. "Yes Please. As soon as possible."

"Would two days from now be a good time for you?"

Makoto choked. Never in his life had two days seemed so far away. "Y-yes that will be fine thank you. Thank you so much."

"You're welcome. Have a good day Mr. Makoto."

"You too..."

Makoto waited until he heard the click on the other end before gently setting down his telephone.


	15. Day 10

DAY 10

Mariko jerked awake, awoken by some primal instinct.

Looking to her right, there he was, mounted by some woman. Mariko stared in shock as they kissed inelegantly.

A murderous rage welled up inside her. Surely she was imagining things. She stumbled up, her body, still not quite awake, felt drugged and sluggish.

The woman glanced up at her. And Mariko now saw that her mouth was sewn shut.

She was one of them.

He was with them. He was with them the whole time. _He_ was with _them_.

Swallowing hard, she slipped a knife from underneath her pillow. How could she have been so stupid as to be tricked by him? She had believed him. She had trusted him. She thought she had been falling...

The woman made a laughing sound and turned back to her current business.

Mariko stood swaying like a drunk, clutching the weapon with white knuckles

She would kill them while they were preoccupied. She would do it quick. Then she would continue up the mountain alone...or end herself. She would make up her mind later. The pain from her mark was a slow burn and now that Itachi wound up being exactly like the rest she wouldn't mind stopping her pathetic, sick, little mind.

She steadily staggered forward, her feet stumbling over every leaf. The pounding in her ears was deafening. Maybe she would just chop them off to get some piece.

"Mariko?"

The question came from underneath the grotesque woman.

Itachi. He would get his for using her.

Finally looming over them, without hesitation, she brought down the knife in a shiny silver arch.

Itachi blinked awake when a leaf crunched loudly near his head.

Rolling onto his back, his face scrunched in confusion. Mariko was standing over him.

"What's wrong?" he whispered. He resisted the urge to reach up and stroke her leg.

She stared at nothing. Her eyes were flat and void of shine.

His eyes trained on the kunai she was holding right before she thrust it at his stomach.

Rolling away at the last moment, he heard the knife plunge into his sleeping mat with a small rip.

Not giving her anytime to recoup, he stood and throwing all of his weight into it, he rammed his shoulder into her side and sent her sprawling on the ground. Her tense body slid and spun across the earth like a spinning star. She tried to scramble up.

Itachi ran over, dropped down, and he pinned her. Even with his knees on her arms, she still tried to get at him, sputtering and screaming, spit flying, calling him obscenities and a liar and traitor. She looked like a crazed stranger.

Reeling back and putting his whole arm into it, he slapped her across her jaw, knocking her face into the dirt.

She stilled. He was afraid that maybe he had knocked her out. With cautious fingers he pushed her hair out of her face. She was stunned but the color was back in her eyes.

She slowly turned to look at him and then looked down and started to panic as she realized he was on top of her.

"Whoa, whoa, it's okay." He jumped off of her.

"What were you doing?" She shrieked, scrambling to her feet and backing away on trembling legs.

"What was I doing?" He stared at her his expression, frustrated and concerned. "You just tried to kill me!"

She stared at him with wide eyes. "I just dreamed that..."

"Yeah well..." He let out a calming breath. "It happened in real life too..."

This was bad. As he scanned her body, there wasn't a place on her that wasn't marred by her curse. Her beautiful tan skin was tattooed with green and yellow veins. He felt a surge of anger. It bubbled like boiling water in his stomach. Not only was Nevorax destroying her body, making it weak and unstable, He was starting to destroy her mind.

He hated him. Itachi hated Nevorax. He wanted that creature to suffer a hundred times more than he had made Mariko suffer.

They both were up the rest of the night. Too afraid to sleep.


	16. The End of the Beginning

BEFORE

TAMA

Her legs burned mercilessly underneath her hips. She felt dizzy and the world swam about her but she kept going, clutching the baby to her chest. She focused on that at little perfect life, warm and soft.

She found the perfect spot; A hollowed out log with a bed of moss resting inside. It was close enough to the road that someone would find her but not so close to the house.

Bringing the baby up to her face, she kissed her a dozen times and then some more. She kissed each cheek, her button nose, her forehead, and then her perfect little mouth. Her baby was so innocent. She took in the delicate, puffy, pink cheeks and stubby hands. She felt a pang of guilt. The poor thing didn't even have a name yet.

For a minute she didn't think she would be able to move. She wouldn't have the strength. How could she just leave her there, alone and cold? Who would rub her ears how she liked? Who would sing her her favorite song? Whoever they were, would they be able to keep the soap out of her eyes when they bathed her? Who's to say that they would even care enough to bathe her at all?

How could she just condemn her precious child to be an orphan? Her brain screamed at her to stop, to pull her closer and keep going. But she couldn't keep going, this was the only way to keep her safe from the person who was supposed keep her safe. With robotic arms she placed her daughter inside the dead tree and with one quiet sob she sprinted back towards the house.

She prayed that the baby would remain quiet as she screamed and waved her arms above her head, hoping her husband would follow.

That morning he was odd from the start. When she woke up and saw him vomiting out in their front yard.

He had smacked her hand away when she tried to wash his damp forehead.

He had spat the water she had given him to drink back in her face.

And when the baby started to cry, he screamed out, wild and feral, and lunged for the axe mounted above their fireplace.

She grabbed the baby and started running, trying to put as much distance between them and the obscenities flying out of her husbands mouth..

There was no logical reason for her to be able to outrun him. But she did, for now.

And now she was in their living room. The one they had built together with their bare hands- Waiting for him to show up in the doorway.

She clutched a kitchen knife with both hands, staring at it glinting in the light.

He appeared at the doorway. Staring at her with those blank eyes.

Her hand let go of the knife and it fell to the floor with a loud clang. Tears were pouring down her face. She couldn't hurt him. How could she ever hurt him? She wouldn't give up on him, even if it was a he death of herself.

"Makoto." She said his name- wanting to talk some sense into him. But he just barreled towards her.

"Stop! Why? Why are you doing this?!"

He didn't say anything. He just kept stomping towards her, his nostrils flaring.

"I love you! Please!"

Tama raised her hands to protect herself but he smacked them away easily then brought the axe down on her skull.

A sound of rushing water. A warm sensation. Then it was over.


	17. Day 11

DAY 11

The farther ascended, the harder the rain poured down, soaking the two weary sojourners. Symphonic tip taps of water hitting leaves and deep throated bullfrogs accompanied her and Itachi very well. If they were precise, the icy droplets slipped down between Marico's jacket collar and her neck, making her uncomfortably soggy. On top of being drenched and exhausted, the thin mountain air made her head swim, making her dizzy.

"This weather is a bit cliché don't you think? " She muttered towards the sky to no one in particular. She blinked as a couple of drops hit her lashes. The climax of their journey was near, and it was storming like it was the end of a cheesy play.

Itachi nodded at her comment but said nothing, his concerned eyes looking at her from their corners, once more locking on to her face. He had been staring a lot lately, as if she were a ticking time bomb. She didn't blame him. If she wasn't before, she sure as hell was convinced now after last night. She had tried to stab him and she didn't feel an ounce of remorse. She was, pretty much, a bomb.

Not only that, but she knew how horrible she must have looked. Her mark was covering 99% of her body now, making her skin saggy and discolored; zombie like. She could feel the inward physical effects as well. Just the mere act of walking caused her pain. She was utterly spent. But her stubbornness trumped her fatigue by a long shot. One way or another, she was ready to end this.

Climbing over one last slippery boulder, the mouth of an enormous cave sitting atop of a large plateau of stone greeted them. Nestled in little mounds of leftover snow, various tufts of grass bent this way and that under the forceful winds. Echoes of internal water drops and the silence of a dark tunnel in front of them made them both uneasy.

"I can't believe we actually made it." Mariko panted out, placing her hands on her knees. It was taking her longer and longer to catch her breath.

Itachi's face was hard, looking focused and intense. "Something isn't right."

The phrase didn't catch Mariko by surprise. "Yeah... I feel that way too." She looked up at him with her head cocked to one side, pushing her dripping bangs out of her eyes. "I just didn't want to admit it out loud." Now that she did say it, she felt sick. Her stomach churned uncomfortably.

Feeling cool calming hands interweave with her hot flushed ones, she looked up to see Itachi's back as he was pulling her forwards. "Come on. Let's see what this is all about."

The cave was silent except for the drip of water that had been lucky enough to easily slip through the right crack instead of plummeting to its death from cloud to forest floor. The quiet was suffocating, making Mariko feel like someone was breathing down her neck.

As they slowly made their way down narrow and large, natural tunnels, Mariko clung to Itachi's hand shamelessly. When her weak hand started to loosen its grip he would squeeze his tighter, making her feel secure.

The cave opened up to a large natural room, the walls were round and smooth, and the ceiling high. Small cracks in various parts of the stone allowed room for light to squeeze into the darkness, making their surroundings visible. They didn't have time to observe much.

A bird skull was fixated on her.

Mariko felt her heart lunge into her throat and she felt like her knees would give out completely. Her thoughts chased a wiry hare in an endless circle. He's here. He's here. Oh God, he's here.

Itachi wrapped an arm around her shoulders and pulled her firmly against his side, protectively.

Her panicked thoughts stopped dead, when she looked up at him. The look he was giving the demon would kill a man; Eyebrows forced together, eyes wide and menacing. Despite her doubt, here Itachi was, protecting her like a mother bear.

All at once, a peace fell over her. He would watch her back. His face, his body stance, it all was a tale tale sign of how much he cared. He wouldn't let anything happen to her if he had a say.

Her peace was replaced with determination. She couldn't put her life solely on his shoulders. It wouldn't be fair to him. She refused to continue to be selfish. If something were to happen to him while she just stood there helpless...she couldn't even imagine. She might be weak but she could still defend herself. She hoped.

Mariko stepped around Itachi with a few short, confident strides. "Drop the charade, Nevorax. I know who you really are." She called out, her voice coming out strong and loud to her satisfaction.

Itachi looked down at her in surprise. She ignored him, unwilling to let him distract her.

The skull tilted, observing her for a moment. Ever so slowly, he raised a blackened talon up to his face. With a quiet scraping sound he drug the talon down the beak and the mask dissolved into thin air.

Mariko's mouth fell open in shock with an audible pop. Much to her surprise and somewhat dismay, the creature under the mask wasn't cruel looking or grotesque. It looked like a man. His marble white face was perfectly proportioned, high cheekbones and eyes with irises as dark as night. Mariko couldn't deny that he was very attractive to look at. In some ways he looked very similar to Itachi. She would have preferred it if he looked more like he did in her imagination, all large fangs and warped features.

His ebony knee length hair floated about like it defied gravity as he stood there. Curved horns, ivory and sharpened to a dangerous point, sprouted from his crown. Even from the distance that parted them, Mariko could tell he was threateningly tall.

He didn't smile or laugh maniacally as he had so many times in her nightmares- his lips were pressed together in a tight line.

His wild gaze shifted to Itachi for a millisecond before darting back to Mariko. He stared at her in a way that made bile rise into her throat along with confusion. He looked at her the same way Itachi had before, during those quiet and secluded moments.

The Tengu rolled his shoulders, visibly shrugging tension to the floor, and his stern gaze was replaced with a breathtaking smile.

"Well isn't this just such a welcome surprise?" Nevorax's voice came out as a purr, every syllable dripping with sarcasm.

Everything about him invited Mariko in. She shivered in the twistedness of it all.

"I'll admit I've had my doubts," he continued in a tone like honey, luscious and sweet. "But you really did manage to make it all the way here." He chuckled. "Tell me how the trip was for you? I hoped you enjoyed the puppets I sent for you to play with. It wouldn't be much fun if you had made it up here with no obstacles what so ever."

Something small started unraveling within Mariko. Slowly at first, but gaining momentum. He was a tangible being. He had almost killed her. He had gazed over her body as if she were a street prostitute. He had traumatized her by forcing her to murder others who, who knows, may have not even been in control of their own bodies. The little facts added up in her head; and she wanted him dead. She wanted him to suffer.

"What do you want from me?" She demanded, feeling the rage boiling violently inside her gut. She resisted the want to tear into the vulnerable part of his neck with her bare teeth.

"Don't you know?"

In a flash she withdrew a kunai and slung it at his face. He batted it away like a fly, a smug smile on his face.

"Enough! Stop screwing with me!" She stripped herself of her coat, revealing more of her yellowed skin. "I want answers."

"Now why would I answer to a corpse?" Nevorax said, tilting his head like he was talking to a child, his eyes grazing over her flesh. He laughed tauntingly; a low rumbling sound. "Don't worry my dear, you aren't actually dying. Physically speaking. All our waiting is almost over and we will be together once more."

Mariko shivered again. Her head pounded like a rapid drum as she tried to make sense of what he meant.

Itachi stepped forward, standing side by side with Mariko once more. "What have you done with the sage?"

"The sage? You're serious." The spirit started cackling, a shoulder shaking, breath hitching, eye watering laugh. It practically shook the walls.

"There was never a sage you unbelievable fool! This cave is as good as mine!" He sputtered as he got ahold of himself.

He tossed his glossy mane over his shoulder. "On second thought, I think I'll tell you everything." Another chuckle. "After all, what's the point of having a brilliant scheme if you don't tell anyone about it?" He smirked and pointed at Itachi. "You of course now all about schemes don't you."

Mariko looked over, Itachi's expression didn't waver, but she heard him ground his teeth.

They didn't have time for Nevorax's monologue. She was nearly out of time for good. Mariko could feel herself fading by the second.

But his perfect voice forced her to listen.

"First of all, I used my power of fear and darkness to cloud Mariko's memory." He dove right into his explanation. "It takes a lot out of me. However, she dwelled so much on how 'horrible' her wretched little life was, it was nearly trivial. But, I digress. I tormented her with visions of her parents and other monsters and chased her right out of the village and into your arms. Now that I think about it, it really was too easy, getting naive Mariko out into the woods. She just didn't put up any fight." His eyes narrowed in annoyance. "Although I wish you would not have tainted her with your foul mouth. I was not expecting those tacky kisses. Nor was I expecting that rather unmanly display of a confession."

More unraveling. " Enough! There's no way I'm backing down from you!" Mariko bellowed "lightning style: micro lightning beams"

A dozen small beams of energy shot out from her palms in all different directions. When they faded a dark chuckle came from behind them.

"It's rude to interrupt, my dear." Nevorax clucked his tongue as he reclined on his back on a large Boulder bordering the left side of the cave. "Now where was I...oh yeah." The demon observed his nails. "After I forced you two together, I knew Itachi would take you to that senile witch in the shack." He grinned. "So I killed her and sent one of my subordinates to claim her body."

Both of their eyes revealed their shock. Mariko felt her heart twist. Fukiyo, their friend, was actually a demon as well. Figures.

She glanced at Itachi once more; he had been close to Fukiyo. If he had felt anything he was very good at hiding it behind a stoic mask.

"Don't worry; every word she spoke was true. Apart from the bit about the sage, that geezer has been dead for centuries." Nevorax frowned "I wasn't expecting the irritating amount of kindness and generosity that was given to you." He said the words like they were curses. "She almost made it too easy for you so I had her killed...again." He laughed, this time; it was dark and threatening, not far off from a rumble of a lion's growl. "I better step up my game! I've been caught by surprise far too often these days."

"You're vile". Mariko spat.

"Oh don't say that." He sat up from his spot on the large rock. "Anyways, after setting you on your path it was all fun and good times from then on out! You took down all of my hellhounds, demons, and zealots. Honestly I wasn't expecting that either. I underestimated both of you."

"This is all a game to you isn't it!?" Mariko accused. She balled her fists up so tightly they shook.

"I thought we should have some fun before we were united." He looked at Mariko, but it was if he were talking to another. Suddenly he was before her.

He was so fast! Just a blink and he was nearly touching her. She instinctively craned her head back to look him in the eye. He lifted a lock of her golden hair in his tarry fingers. "I've waited so long for you my darling.

His eyes focused on Mariko clearly once more. "I've been with you since you were little."

Bile rose back into her throat "What do you mean?" She asked, her voice a shaky whisper as her resolve faltered.

He grinned. "It all started when I took care of your parents. Every time you felt you were being followed, when you saw that shadow in the corner or under your bed that figure looming over you as you slept, that sickening feeling to end it all, that was me." He bent closer, in a terrifying sweet voice, "I've always been there my darling, waiting to be with you forever."

"Why Mariko?"

They both looked at Itachi when he spoke.

"Why her?" Itachi asked again, nodding his head towards Mariko, his Sharingan glowing in the darkness.

Nevorax pulled her face back to look into his with a long black finger "because she is perfect in every way."

"You said you...took care of my parents." Mariko's voice betrayed her still, trembling and barely above a whisper.

The spirit sighed. Obviously annoyed. "I thought it was your mother, at first. Your mother harbored the same...qualities as you. So your father, a depressed, pitiful farmer was murdered by my hand." He sneered "but it was too late, that man had corrupted my beautiful host, making her weak, so I killed her too." He smiled again. "But that's all in the past now, you are so much better and powerful in every way"

Mariko visibly shook now. Her whole body feeling like she had walked through a spider web. "My parents abandoned me. They didn't want me."

He laughed with a closed mouth, a pleasant sound. "No, no, they loved you, not as much as me, but they did love you. I was the one who let you be taken in by Konoha until you were old enough."

Itachi's gazed shifted, "like a lamb to slaughter."

The spirit reeled back and gnashed his teeth "Of course you wouldn't understand!" The cave shuddered slightly; the light seemed to cower back a few feet. "Don't you see it's the only way? We will be together until the end of time! I need her, to bring her back! Before that can happen I must flush all humanity out of her system. Then and only then can she be mine."

"Bring who back?"

Nevorax paused for a moment, contemplating. "My love. Hitsuki." His voice had dropped from an all-powerful roar to adoring muttering within an instant.

"Once upon a time, there was a human maiden who fell in love with a demon. Every night she would visit her demon and they would be together until the morning."

Nevorax stared at Mariko, as if he expected her to recall this story. His eyes were soft as he spoke. "Her sister, being the sneaking little shrew she was, followed her sibling and discovered the demon with his lover. Although the older sister begged and pleaded, the younger went straight to her father, who flew into an inconsolable rage. Claiming that she was evil, her own father tossed the demon's lover atop from this very cliff." He pointed to the tunnel leading outside.

"The demon, in unimaginable anguish and thirsty for revenge, slaughtered the whole village. An idea struck him when he fell upon the maiden's sister cowering under her bed. He drug her out, removed her soul, and replaced it with his lovers. They were happily together until his lovers host body became too old and frail. He removed her soul and has kept it with him for the last two decades, waiting for another host to emerge from his lover's family line, with just the right genetic code. You will become Hitsuki's new body."

Nevorax smiled warmly. "You look just like her..."

Mariko felt an unexpected wave of compassion. She glanced at Itachi taking in his face, his hair, and his eyes. She wondered how she would feel if she were to lose him forever. Did she love him?

She shoved the thought down forcefully before turning her eyes back to Nevorax.

"It doesn't have to be this way. Hitsuki is resting peacefully, it sounds like she had a happy and fulfilling life with you. Don't you think she deserves..."

Her voice trailed off with the look Nevorax was giving her. It was a look of shock, pain, and anger.

"Those..." The demon's voice was barely above a whisper. "Those are almost the exact same words that she said to me the day she died."

"She just didn't understand. Once she is with me again, she will understand that I'm right." His demeanor darkened and suddenly he loomed over them both. "She can't come back until you're dealt with, Uchiha."

Itachi narrowed his eyes and grinned maliciously. A look Mariko had never seen in his features. "With my eyes, you will be eradicated from existence.

Nevorax sighed wearily. He casually flicked his wrist.

Itachi heard her scream, the noise piercing his ears.

"ITACHI!"

An invisible force made Itachi's body crumple into the cave floor he heard a few pops in his vertebra. An elephant was standing on his chest.

In a flash, Nevorax, wrapped his giant fingers around Itachi's throat and squeezed as he raised Itachi straight into the air. Itachi's feet were far off the floor and his brain raced through solutions.

The Susano popped up in his mind. No, he couldn't risk hurting Mariko. Maybe if he could force her out of the cave...

Something started burning. His sharingan was forced off.

"What?" He spat out involuntarily.

He willed his sharingan to come back but nothing happened. As he started struggling to take another breath, his brain shifted into primal panic mode.

"Good luck fighting blind." Nevorax whispered sinisterly through* gritted teeth, tightening his grip with every syllable.

Itachi was burning all over. His eyes darted down to his wrist to see nasty red claw marks appearing on his skin. For once he had no idea what to do. For once he didn't know how he would make it out of this one.

"No, no, no, stop!" Mariko was shrieking at the top of her lungs. "I'll do what you want! I'll do what you want! Stop! Please!" Itachi glanced over to see her drop to her hands and knees. She was begging for him. Why was she so foolish? This is exactly what Nevorax want. She is what he wants.

The spirit dropped Itachi roughly and was looking down on her in a Nano second. "Alright." The demon said simply.

Nevorax, picking her up by the shoulders, stretched his mouth unnaturally wide, like the jaws of a reptile, and sent a black smoke like substance from his throat into Mariko's. Her eyes clouded over, turning them a dull gray and the green veins scattered across her body turned a charcoal black, she made a quiet suffocating sound.

Itachi kept trying to force his sharingan to activate. He couldn't make out what was happening to her inner network with his natural sight. It really was like being blindfolded.

"All finished." The spirit said as he dusted his hands like he had just finished folding a pile of laundry. "Now the real fun can't start."

Mariko slowly opened her eyes.

Why was she laying down?

Why was she outside?

She sat up and looked around. She was a few yards away from the mouth of the cave. The violent wind currents nearly blew her back to the ground. It picked up tiny gravel that scratched her skin painfully. But the world around her was dead quiet, even the wind had no noise.

It was so quiet, in fact, that Mariko had a ringing in her ears. A soft high pitch noise that made her shake her head a few times to try and rid her of the intrusive, unending note.

She stood on quivering fawn legs, keeping her arms out in front of her slightly to keep balance. Everything around her seemed dull, less saturated, and dying. Mariko looked around for Itachi, feeling naked without his constant presence. No one was to be found.

Suddenly a movement from her left caught her eye. Whipping around, confusion settled in. How was he up here? Why was he up here?

"Ibiki sensei?" she muttered. Her voice matched the strength of her legs.

The jonin had his back to her. He was hunched over, crouching on the balls of his feet. His elbows erratically jerking back as he focused his attention on the ground in front of him.

She swallowed thickly and inched closer, her toes scraping the ground.

"Ibiki what are you..."

Bending to look around him she choked on her sentence. Ibiki was digging with his bare hands frantically.

Frozen in horror, all she could do was watch as he kept digging. He was using so much force that the flesh on his hands was slowly scraping off on the rocks under his fingertips. Leaving small trails of blood dotted with chunks of pink.

She felt the color rush from her face. "Sensei, stop!"

"Got to get down. Got to get away. Got to get down. Got to get away."

He kept saying it like a chant. The bones of his fingers were now uncovered. Yet he kept digging. The chant became faster, became jumbled up.

"gottogetdowngottogetawaygottogetdown."

She tried to pull him up, but was like a heavy machine. "Stop Ibiki! Please stop!" She shrieked. The more she protested the harder he dug and the louder he chanted. Fat globs of tears started to fall down her cheeks as she yelled and struggled against him.

She felt a shift behind her.

Releasing her grip on his shoulders, she turned around and saw a dozen people scattered about the cliff. Some were digging and clawing like Ibiki, some were just standing there like mannequins, and some pacing about. She recognized some of the people from the leaf, others she didn't know at all.

She spotted Kurenai Sarutobi, sitting at the mouth of the cave. She rocked back and forth steadily. She whispered something to herself with each sway forward. Her black waves falling in front of her face but through the curtain, Mariko could tell her face was tight in pain.

Mariko wanted to run to her, wanted to ask her what was happening, but when she tried to maneuver her legs, they stayed put.

She started hyperventilating, the sound of her air rushing in and out of her lungs echoed against her ears, as if she were in an empty tight metal room. She couldn't move, she could hardly manage her breathing. Her sensei were losing their minds. Would she lose her mind as well? Had she already lost it? What is going on? She screamed.

Before she could panic any further, she opened her eyes and a short old woman was in front of her. She had her fingers against her eyes, rubbing hard as she sobbed uncontrollably. "There isn't any escape. I've tried." She cried out. "I...I just can't take it anymore!" The old woman started peeling off the flesh of her eyelids slowly with dirty fingernails. "There isn't any escape. He will kill us all!" She yelled so loud and her spit flew into Mariko's face.

With those last words she sprinted with a speed of a woman many years her junior, to the cliff face. Without a moment's hesitation, the old woman hurled herself off the edge.

Mariko clamped a hand to her mouth. Suddenly the air tasted foul. She gagged for a few long moments before falling to her knees and retching violently on the ground. Her head was spinning as her stomach emptied.

Mariko's chest heaved with erratic panting. She fought the inevitable hysteria she felt settling in. Someone was coming for them all. She clenched her hair and pulled hard, feeling the follicles rip out from the roots.

A scream pierced the silence. Glancing up sharply, she saw Kurenai laying on her stomach and staring at her with terror. Something was dragging her into the cave.

Mariko, finally forcing herself to her feet, started running with drunken steps towards her. Long before she could reach her, she was drug quickly into the darkness. Another blood curdling scream echoed against the stones. Mariko's whole body jerked at the sound of snapping of bones. A couple seconds of a gurgling sound before suffocating silence once again took over.

Mariko stood there quivering like a wounded animal. She waited for what seemed like hours, yearning for her sensei to come back out from the shadows,

As if answering her plea, a figure slowly emerged out of the cave. With heavy steps.

"Kurenai?" Mariko whispered before grabbing her chest in relief. "Itachi...Where have you been? Something is wrong. I don't know what's happening." More tears blurred her vision. She reached an arm out to him, needing to feel his warmth. "Ibiki and Kurenai, they're sick or something...and this old woman. Something..." Her voice trailed off as she took in the sight of him.

He sauntered out towards her with long strides. His Akatsuki cloak was left unfastened and billowed around him in the wind. His pure white shirt and pants were stained with red so dark it was almost black while his mouth and finger tips dripped with blood.

"Itachi...?" She whispered, her eyes bulging in her confusion.

When he got closer, Itachi smirked, revealing bloody teeth in a taunting smile. "Fooled you."

With that he sprinted at her and grabbed her throat, leaping up into the air as if she weighed nothing. Slamming her into the ground, he pushed her back further and further. She could feel the top of her head being slammed repeatedly into rocks and boulders as he drug her through the earth. Suddenly her head was drooping off the edge of the cliff.

She groaned as her vision blackened and then came back into focus. Itachi was smiling down at her cruelly.

With a dark laugh, Itachi turned her on her stomach by yanking her around by her hair. She squeezed her eyes shut and squealed in pain. Her head still dangling over the edge.

"Look little piglet." Itachi demanded in a voice rough and forceful, pulling her hair harder.

She opened her eyes reflexively. Hundreds of corpses littered the base of the cliff. Young, old, infant, and senior. All dead. Some bodies were pierced on limbs; some were being feasted on by birds of carrion. Some were just limp limbs and left over intestines, draped across the rocks and other bodies. Their eyes were all open and staring up at her.

Mariko breathed in fully and screamed so loud a hard she heard a popping sound in her ears. She screamed over and over, giving into hysteria. She flailed underneath the weight of Itachi's body on her back and she convulsed violently, Shrieking and sobbing.

Through it all she felt Itachi's breath on her ear. She felt a deep chuckle erupt from his chest.

"You won't be as lucky, little piglet."

A flash of Mariko's arm in his peripherals, then he was somersaulting* in midair. His body slammed into the cave wall. Just as soon as his skull bounced against the rock, Mariko was an inch from his, eyes unmoving and a face with no emotion.

She pinned him to the wall with one hand. Her palm dug into his chest painfully. He felt his toes graze the ground even though her arm was stretched high above her head.

More pressure and he felt the rock underneath his head cave just a little before she started dragging him against the cave wall, though the layer of granite as shards of stone pierced his flesh.

When his crow clone disappeared from under her grasp, she didn't react, just dropped her hand and stood there motionless.

He poured more chakra into his feet to stay perched on the high ceiling.

"Mangyeko sharingan..."

He cursed. His sharingan still wouldn't obey him.

Cackling in delight, Nevorax crossed his arms across his chest. "There's no way you could qualify as genius. You are such a slow learner."

Mariko weaved signs so fast Itachi wouldn't have been surprised if she had been the one with sharingan. But even at that speed and without his own sharingan, Itachi recognized her pinwheel Justus and prepared to dodge it.

She feigned the attack, and instead leapt into the air to try and send a knee into his eye socket.

This wasn't the Marko from before. Her strength and speed we're other worldly.

He evaded her attack and flew at Nevorax, chest puffed out in preparation for a fire jutsu.

A fist to his stomach prevented the attack. Mariko's knuckles felt like brass as they dug into his abdomen.

Grabbing the collar of his coat, she slung him to the floor like a rag doll.

Just as soon as his back touched the ground, she was kneeling on top of him, her heavy knees pinning him down.

Itachi turned her over on her back again.

She stared up at him with a quivering chin as he ran a tongue over his gleaming sharpened teeth.

Using the little bit of space he had created, she rolled out from underneath him sprinted away.

She heard him laugh and after making it about three steps, a hand grabbed her ankle. She fell down hard and her teeth bit down on her tongue forcefully. She spat as metallic tasting blood bloomed inside of her mouth.

"You can't out run me."

Itachi's fingers dug into her thighs, then her rear, then her waist and shoulders. His hands pawing at every inch of her. She shrieked and fought to no avail, jerking her body around to try to shake him off. He didn't budge.

"You will never get away. You are mine until I am tired of you."

His fingers finally settled on her calves, they dug in so hard, his firm nails easily cut into the soft skin there.

She screamed harder, feeling blood trickle down the backs of her legs. She yelled obscenities at Itachi and cried for help at anyone who cared to hear. Her voice so panicked it sounded foreign to her ears.

Feeling herself being dragged back towards the cave she fanned her arms straight out. Her fingernails quickly shattered as she scraped to get purchase on the rock floor.

The world was growing darker as she was drug deeper.

"Please! Anyone!"

She felt his teeth at her neck.

"HELP ME!"

She heard a ghost of a whisper.

"Mariko..." Itachi whispered.

Her eyes were still staring at nothing. She didn't move. She weighed a ton. He was surprised he could even breathe under her weight.

Suddenly Nevorax was behind her. His arms encircled her waist. "Hitsuki..." He smiled and buried his face into Mariko's hair. "Not much longer."

"Mariko." Itachi mumbled again. He stretched his fingers as far as he could, the tendons straining and shaking in effort. He managed to touch her bare heel, her skin bringing the sense of familiarity.

Her warm smile beamed up at him momentarily and his hands were cupping her soft cheeks. Itachi blinked, and the vision was gone.

Mariko's hands squeezed tighter.

His vision started to blacken. He held his hand to her skin stubbornly. She could do this.

"Too late Itachi, looks like you lose." Nevorax said from his spot next to Mariko's ear. His voice was full of glee.

Itachi could swear he saw her mouth quiver just a little, but then he saw a flash of steel as a small sword slid out of her jacket sleeve with a flick of her wrist.

"Please come back to me..." Itachi whispered, his fingers stroking her heel. He refused to give up on her.

"She's mine." Nevorax buried his head into her shoulder.

Mariko raised the sword high above her head the polished blade catching the light.

Her hands finally off of his neck, enough pressure had been moved for his arm to be able to gently caress Mariko's calf. He swept his fingers over the tawny skin.

Itachi saw images of Sasuke and Mariko dance behind his eyelids; the two people who completely had his heart.

"I'm sorry..." he whispered; praying that one of them would somehow receive his apology.

A war cry emerged from Mariko's mouth as she plunged the sword.

The sword buried to the hilt inside of Mariko's stomach. The sharp tip stuck out of Nevorax's back.

"You think this would hurt me? You dumb bitch-"

Nevorax's words were cut off with a gurgling choke. He gasped as he dislodged himself from the blade.

Warm blood sprayed over Itachi's clothing as Mariko pulled out the sword and slumped forward.

The spirit made a gagging sound and flew backwards. His body slammed against the cave repeatedly like a bird flying into a glass window.

He began to vomit thick black tar as he fell to his knees. The room began to crumble.

"Wait...Onikiri?" A deep roar rumbled within his body as his wild eyes stared at the sword. "How did you come to find the demon slayer blade?!" Nevorax screamed.

Mariko just smiled, stubbornly refusing to answer his question.

"You smug...I will not go down this easily! I will destroy-". Nevorax, voice warped and deep, began bellowing in a garbled other worldly language. The sound would frighten even the steeliest man. He lunged at her with deadly speed.

Itachi twisted and shielded her automatically with his body, clutching her against his chest. Itachi tensed when he felt Nevorax's fingertips reached his back.

When he didn't feel any pain and realized that he had removed his hands completely, Itachi whipped around to see Nevorax's slack body rising into the air. A large orange ball of light was swirling about his chest. He wasn't screaming anymore, although it was clear that he was in pain through small grunts.

The demon smiled, suddenly looking at peace. "Hitsuki...my love..." He muttered.

Itachi continued to watch tensely as the demon's body disintegrated slowly into ashes.

He swore he saw a woman dressed in white bowing to him.

Then all was silent.

Itachi, suddenly snapping back to reality, turned his attention back to Mariko, who was staring up at him in quiet agony.

Gently laying her on the stone floor, he pressed frantic hands onto her stomach, trying to stop the flow of blood, cursing himself for not being proficient in medical ninjutsu.

Mariko, round eyed and exhausted, began to cry. Her face crumpled up in pain. "I'm sorry...I'm sorry...I'm so sorry." She shook her head roughly. "I didn't know what else to do...I'm sorry."

Keeping one hand on her stomach, Itachi brushed her bangs out of her face. He felt a hard lump in his throat and forced his composure once more. "Shhh...It's not your fault." He gave her a shaky smile.

Itachi sat up and ripped off his jacket. He crumpled it into a ball, pressed it to her stomach, and tried to pour whatever meager healing justus he knew into the wound. They were so far from any civilization; there was no where he could take her. No one was coming to help her.

Mariko's eyes were red rimmed and streams of tears raced down her face. She moaned quietly and spat out a trickle of blood. It ran down the side of her mouth and splattered onto the stone below. "There's...there's a lot of-of blood." She groaned again, her mouth clamping tightly shut.

Itachi bent down close to her face, their noses almost touching. "Listen to me. You're okay. You're going to be fine." His eyes darted to his hands. "I'm going to fix it, see?" He tried to smile again, but failed miserably. "I'm fixing it. Hey, hey..."

Mariko started wriggling, more blood sloshing about underneath her back. "Help me up..." She whispered. When Itachi didn't move her face contorted, "I don't want to lay down!" She repeated in a yell. "Don't make me lay here." She started crying harder, trying to push herself up with shaking weak limbs.

Itachi, unwilling to move his hands again, lest it weaken the jutsu, pushed her head back down gently with his forehead. "No, don't move. Lay down for me...just for a minute. Just for a minute, okay?" Itachi pressed a kiss against her pale clammy forehead, startled by how hot the skin was.

"Itachi...I want water. I'm dehydrated I think."

She didn't realize how that one phrase made his stomach twist. When he glanced down into her face to answer, he saw that Mariko's eyes had started to roll.

"Hey, hey, hey...baby, look at my face. Mariko, look! Look at me in the eyes!" He cursed once and screamed in her face. " _Look at me right now_!"

Mariko focused her tired eyes once more with great effort, her moan cracked and fragile. "I'm trying...stop yelling..."

"That a girl...that's it." He felt frustrated tears prick his eyes. "Just keep looking at me. It's not bad...it's not bad. You're okay...it's not that bad."

He watched helplessly as Mariko's eyes drifted again her head turning listlessly.

"No, no, no..." He finally broke his hands away from the bloody cloth and took her face between both of his trembling hands. "Wait! Wait, baby. Please wait, Mariko!" He moaned. His voice rose to a scream once more. "Hey, hey! Wait! Look at me! No, no, God, please look at me!"

Bright light. It was overwhelmingly bright. It stung her eyes when she opened them. She just wanted to close them again. She wanted to embrace the warm comfortable dark.

Even though she was still lying on her back, she couldn't see Itachi anymore, but she wasn't afraid anymore either. Everything was just cozy.

"Well look who's awake."

Mariko turned her head towards the voice to her left.

"Are you an angel? I think I'm dead..." She muttered flatly. She wasn't sure how to react to death knocking on her door. We're people normally this complacent?

The woman standing beside her was beautiful with creamy skin that seemed to glow. Her brown hair was floor length and she had emerald green eyes. She smirked and tilted her head slightly. "No, I'm not"

Mariko, feeling foolish for not realizing it sooner, grinned impishly. "You're my mother."

The woman's smile stretched a mile long. "Yes, my darling, you're so smart!" She knelt next to her. When she did an extremely tall man with tan skin and Amber eyes appeared behind her. His long arm draped over the woman's shoulders.

"I'm afraid you got the vast majority of your intelligence from your father." Her mother stated with an elegant giggle.

Mariko felt her eyes prick with tears. "I look just like both of you..."

She thought she heard Itachi's voice, muffled and far away. She couldn't pay attention to him now. She was talking to her _parents_.

"I'm dead, aren't I?" Mariko stated still trying to get used to the idea.

The woman's smile faded. "I'm so proud of you. We both can't wait to be with you." Her mother continued. "Oh, how we have missed you so..." She paused. "But it's not your time yet." Her smile was gentle.

"You still have so much left to give to the world...so much more to experience." Her father interjected in a voice rich and soothing.

Her mother's eyes crinkled in delight. "And you will do it all, my darling."

Something dawned on Mariko; everything had started to come together. "It was you wasn't it? You were the old woman who gave me the sword. "

Her mother's eyes crinkled in amusement. "That's a story for another time."

Mariko suddenly felt more blood bubbling in the back of her throat; she coughed it out, sputtering violently as she felt herself being dragged back into reality.

"We must go now my dear."

Mariko shook her head roughly in protest. "There's still so much more I want to know...so much I need to say." She moaned out. Her breath was coming out in heaves. "I'm sorry I hated you all these years...I didn't know..."

"There is nothing to forgive, darling." Her mother insisted with a gentle nod.

The light surrounding them had started to fade and Mariko could feel pain starting to creep its way back in.

"Mother..."

"You'll be fine my love. It's taken you awhile to find it within yourself...but you're so strong and brave and full of love to give." She stood and took hold of her father's hand. "Life is hard and confusing. But you'll make it. I know you will." They both smiled. "We'll see each other again."

With those words their images vanished and Itachi's white panicked face came into focus once more. He had a face covered in bruises and a large cut along his jaw. Eyes wide and watery, he was begging her to look at him; begging her to stay with him. She felt a warm butterfly.

She felt a cool unrecognizable sensation on the abdomen.

She looked down and saw Itachi holding the rune stone. Luminescent light poured out of its markings and over her shockingly gruesome wound.

"How did you..." She didn't recognize her own voice, it was hoarse.

Itachi didn't answer, just slumped forward in relief; head in hand. He wiped the back of his palm across her damp forehead. "I thought..." He muttered. "I thought you were gone...I don't understand." His voice was full of emotion.

"I'm not sure I do either." She started at the cave's ceiling, not having enough energy to move. Feeling weak but so peaceful. Her eyes darted towards him. "Did I...hurt you?"

He laughed and tapped her forehead. "Not too bad. I'm definitely going to be sore and I probably need to see a medical professional...but at least I didn't get stabbed straight through."

"That is true." She smirked then sobered quickly. "I was so scared..." She felt fresh tears surface. "Nevorax gave me visions of horrible things. They were..."

Itachi shook his head. "It's all over now. He's gone and he isn't going to be bothering you or anyone else again." He whispered.

Bending low, he scooped her up in his arms.

Mariko rested her head against his broad chest. The low drumming in his chest soothed her. There was still so much mystery surrounding what just happened, but she was too exhausted to speak anymore. She just listened to the drumming of Itachi's heart as he carried her out into the dewy and bright afternoon.


	18. After

AFTER

The air started to warm up again as they descended down Namida. The air was still crisp with the promise of cooler weather but the farther they descended the thick forest seemed to heat up their weary bones like an electric blanket.

Mariko pulled her hoodie off of her body and gazed at her arms in rapture. Her body was void of any scar or blemish. The mark had left absolutely no trace.

She ran her fingers across the tops of her arms once more. She couldn't stop touching her skin. She had a new appreciation for clearness. If she ever saw that green tint again it would be too soon.

She slides her fingers through her hair and sighs happily. Her body is still weak. Sometimes her legs start to give way and she has to lean heavily on Itachi, lest she tumble down the rest of the mountain.

Neither one of them minded though.

They took their time returning. Walking leisurely and talking about everything that had happened and then some. During their long talks they had uncovered a few things.

It was either Hitsuki or Mariko's mother who had given Onikiri, the demon slayer blade, to Mariko. Although the odds tipped in favor of Hitsuki. They didn't know how, but Mariko's description of the old woman who had given her the sword and Itachi's description of the bowing woman lined up perfectly. She was also the one who told Itachi how to use the rune stone to heal Mariko. A small voice in his ear had advised him. Either that or he had finally snapped from stress.

On their second day descending the mountain, they stumbled upon a quiet pond and decided to take a break there. They both agreed that the other smelled ripe and needed to wash up.

The water was warm as she stripped down to her underwear. The rusty blood floated away from her clothing as she dipped them into the water repeatedly. She scrubbed them against a rock before laying them out to dry.

Her heart raced as she waded deeper to bathe.

Itachi was looking at her with a tender gaze. Suddenly, Mariko wondered if he had looked at many women the way he was looking at her now. Without warning, she felt jealous of the bodacious blonde that her imagination cooked up for her to loath.

She dipped down and scrubbed her hair under the water, washing out as much dirt and blood as possible. When she resurfaced, he was still looking at her, His long inky hair soaking wet and stuck to his pale skin.

Mariko didn't mind the staring.

Sloshing over, she perched herself up on the boulder he was resting against.

Leaning a little more heavily on his back, Itachi lined up his pinky finger with hers.

She looks down and observes his long calloused hands. They looked so different from her small, rubbed raw, ones.

From there, her eyes scan over his body. He has multiple deep gashes and quite a few bruises. She felt sick with guilt all over again.

She lost track of how many times she had apologized. She couldn't help it. Each time Itachi said the same things. "It's not your fault." "It's done with, don't worry about it." "Mariko, stop apologizing."

Without warning, she notices how close his face is to her own. Halting her thoughts instantly. She catches him looking at her chin, lips, and nose before his eyes flick up to hers.

"I love you, you know..."

She nearly chokes on the confession as it slides smoothly out of her mouth. By, God. What was wrong with her.

He smiles warmly before a miniscule change flashes across his eyes.

"You shouldn't."

"Why?"

"I'm dangerous."

She laughed uncomfortably, her ears feeling warm in her embarrassment... She should have never said anything. "You're not that dangerous..."

"Fine...My life is dangerous. Being a Ninja with no master-no village-it's a hard worrisome life. You can go back to the village. And you should. It's best for everyone."

That stung.

"I don't want to go back. If I do I will regret leaving you alone."

She placed her hand over his and he slid it out from under hers swiftly.

"I deserve to be alone."

"I don't care."

"The village could come after you. They are probably looking for you right now."

"I don't care."

"What about Ibiki and your other comrades?"

"I don't care."

"What about the Akatsuki? If they find out..."

"I. Don't. _Care_."

Itachi pushed himself off of the rock roughly, sending a mini wave ahead of him as he waded forward. He released a frustrated sound between the cracks of his teeth.

"Do you care about anything?"

"I care about-"

"Do _not_ say 'me'." He whipped back around to face her. Black strands of hair sticking to his neck and cheeks.

"I do though. And I care about giving you all the love I can."

He laughed without humor, running a hand over the top of his head. "Love..." He made a face. "Do you even know what 'love' really is?"

She still sat on her rock, unembarrassed by her lack of clothing, but humiliated by his question.

Her eyebrows knitted together. She knew the question had meant to anger her, but she ignored its biting sound. He was trying to push her away.

"Love is... accepting another person wholly with all of their faults and shortcomings." She stated, looking up at the stars as she was thinking. "Its finding that one person who you can trudge through hell and back together and remain intact. Love is putting another's needs before your own-"

"That." Itachi spouted off with a pointer finger aimed at her heart. "That right there is why I can't give you what you want. I can't put your needs first. You know what I have to do...for my brother and the village. I can't put you through that."

He turned back around towards the bank. "I won't put you through that."

He trudge back towards the shore, leaving Mariko deflated and red faced, swaying from the wake he left behind.

"Sorry if I lead you on..." Itachi fumes.

The forest was more than quiet. There was no wind. There were no chattering animals or shaking tree limbs. The only sound was their breathing.

They stared each other down, both Mariko and Itachi wanting the other to break the silence.

"This is where we part ways." Itachi finally muttered looking at his feet.

with a fast exhale, Mariko spun on her heels and marched away a few paces before spinning back around. She set her jaw.

"Itachi." She snapped her face a twisted scowl.

"What?" He retorts, looking just as annoyed.

"Marry me."

"No."

"Marry me!"

"I can't!" he shouts. "I can't marry you! I _cannot_ marry you!" With every sentence he slapped his hands together. An audible period. "I don't want to hurt you. That is unavoidable with a man like me." He paused and shook his head. "I won't drag you down with me."

Mariko huffed again and looked at the sky with her arms stretched out, as if asking for a sign. She was an unmovable rock talking to a brick wall.

Although much of her temper had vanished since their events up on Namida, rage now bubbled from her chest to her throat; the hot magma eroded her esophagus.

"Have you been paying even the slightest bit of attention to what has been happening? Those kisses...those embraces and dark nights sleeping right next to you, sharing your body warmth. Did they mean nothing to you?" She felt tears come up but she choked them back. Breathing in slowly through her nose, she composed herself. "Because they were...are everything to me."

"Mariko..."

She cut him off with a sharp wave of her hand. "No, you're going to listen to what I have to say. You have lived your entire life for other people who don't give a damn about you. You have given up everything. And even now you are trying to push away the one person who actually cares."

A poor attempt at a smile only seemed to make her tears edge closer to the brink of falling. "Please Itachi...please let me give you some joy. I don't care if we have a hundred years before you leave or two minutes left...please let me love you." She begged.

She walked up to him, so close she could feel his body heat radiating from his skin. Looking into his face, she struggled to find words for what she was feeling. Seeing softness left in his eyes that he struggled to cover up with a hardened face only spurred her on.

"Life as a shinobi is unforgiving. Each of us is forced to grow up before our time as we just try to make it to tomorrow. When we should be getting into trouble for staying out late, making stupid mistakes, and just being kids, we are learning how to fight most efficiently."

Getting an unnerved feeling that he would bolt like a deer if she moved too fast, she carefully lifted her hands and cupped his cheeks. "Life as a shinobi is cruel." She repeated in a soft whisper. "But to love and be loved is the closest we will ever get to a normal life while we are still breathing." She swallowed, her throat feeling dry. "And feeling what I have felt for you these past few days..." she pressed a hand to her heart. "Has been the most rewarding thing I have ever experienced."

She felt his hair brush against her hand, tickling it as she rubbed his back.

Falling silent she ran out of words. She stared up at him, hoping that she had gotten through. She knew she was right. Even now, watching his eyes scan hers, she knew she couldn't leave him alone. She knew she needed him because he needed her.

Itachi's eyes tightened and his dropped his head, looking at anything but her eyes.

"Itachi..."

She picked up his chin with a gentle hand. He didn't resist. He looked at her and she knew he was wearing down.

"You love me?"

A breath- and then he nodded- his eyebrows pulling together in his seriousness.

"Do you want to be with me?"

He pulled his lips between his teeth and was still for a moment before nodding again.

"Then marry me..." she whispered, barely audible among the chirping bugs and birds.

Itachi had turned to stone. His dark eyes staring into her golden ones. He was fighting an inner struggle. She could see it playing out in his pupils.

He slowly began to nod and she nodded with him, hardly being able to contain herself.

Invisible chains that had previously held him back evaporated with their agreement. Pulling her tighter to him, he buried his long fingers into her hair, parting through the strands like silk. She brushes her lips against his. Mariko can feel a ghost of a smile on his mouth before he takes her lips with his completely.

He kissed the soft skin on the corners of her mouth before tracing the bridge of his nose down her jaw line. She shudders at his touch and places her hands on either side of his neck, her thumbs resting behind his ears.

When he lifts his head, she kisses him firmer. Their lips moved easily and fluidly as they performed the ancient ritual that so many others had performed before them.

When they break away, out of breath and embers in their bellies, the world around them seems brighter.

Itachi is beaming at her, his eyes crinkled at the corners as he watches her face.

"So...are you going to take me home or what?" Mariko asks as she runs her hands down his chest.


	19. The Rest

EPILOUGE

Her heart thundered mercilessly inside of her rib cage, threatening to burst out between the bones as she stared at her reflection.

The plain white kimono she had adorned twenty minutes ago actually flattered her figure, complementing her body in a way that other clothes did not.

 _This is crazy. This is crazy._ She thought to herself, the words chasing each other around in her head.

They had only been together together for a couple of months now, and her she was about to promise herself to him for the rest of her life.

She had a fleeting moment of panic at the commitment she was about to make, but then had an immediate fluttering butterfly of happiness at the same thought. This was completely and utterly right.

A tree moved outside of the window, causing the sun to reflect off the fabric of her clothes, making her squint at their brightness.

The ceremony would begin at any minute. So many emotions had surged through her within the last hour. She had wished she had womanly friends who would have been there for her, to stand by her side. She wished her mother was here to make over her and shed tears with her.

A simple and small ceremony was inevitable. Life was busy and their union was to be somewhat of a secret. Mariko preferred a small wedding anyways, but that hadn't stopped Itachi for feeling guilty about not giving her a big one. The only people who would attend were the minister himself with Kisame serving as the sole witness. She had been annoyed at the thought of him being there but had consented to Itachi's judgment. He had insisted that he wasn't that bad of a guy. Really. He wasn't.

She checked her makeup. Not being the makeup sort, she hoped she had done a good job; at least she thought it looked nice. It made her look older. She smoothed down her kimono gingerly and took one last look in the mirror before walking towards the door in small strides.

She blinked in the sunlight and let her eyes adjust. Then there he was. His black kimono matched his hair and eyes. There was a certain pink to his cheeks that she had never seen before. Though the bride was supposed to be the center of attention, she couldn't even remember what she even looked like when she saw him. To Mariko, he was absolutely perfect.

Feeling faint, she took a deep shuddering breath, then another, and then walked towards him.

Now standing in front of him, Itachi grabbed her hand and squeezed tightly, his thumbs drawing circles over her hands.

The minister spoke some words. Mariko could hardly process them as she stared at her fiancé. But she didn't miss her cue to read her vows.

She took out the paper with her vows, worn from erasing, folding and refolding. It trembled as she struggled to hold it still. Itachi squeezed her hand again, reaffirming her.

"Itachi..." another steadying breath. "The day we met again, after years of being apart, was the scariest and one of the most horrible days of my entire life. I hated your guts and I would have been happy to send you to your death." She glanced at the minister. "That's no exaggeration."

Kisame chuckled loudly, the minister laughed uncomfortably, and Itachi looked down sheepishly.

"Never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that I would be standing with you today. Now, being here feels like a beautiful and wonderful dream come true. Cliché as that sounds. We fell in love slowly and then all at once. I wouldn't have it any other way. Itachi, I love your loyalty, and your strength. I admire your intelligence and intuition. Your selflessness knows no bounds and even though your patience and calmness can be infuriating. I love that too."

itachi wiped her eyes with a thumb, careful not to smudge her makeup as she went on. "I promise to always be loyal to you, to cherish and adore you. I promise to always be open and honest with you to a fault. I promise to love you on the easy days as well as the hard ones. On this day, I marry you without hesitation or doubt: with these words I bind my life to yours, never one without the other."

Itachi caressed her cheek with the back of his hand before he too pulled out a piece of paper. "Mariko, your vivacious spirit and friendship has brought light into my life. Lighting up the darkness and filling it with warmth. Whatever I possess in this world, I give to you. I will keep you, hold you, comfort, tend, and shelter you. I promise to honor and respect you. What may come, I will always be there, each one believing that love never dies. I will love you always, no matter if we are together or apart."

She had known he couldn't give her a ring, but when he pulled out a pendant and turned her hand over to place it into her palm. When she gazed at the uchiha fan, carved in silver, she couldn't hold back her tears.

"You are my family now; an Uchiha. He kissed her forehead, "I know you will bring the name honor again."

She sniffed. "You have already done that." She pulled the necklace into her chest. "But I will treasure this for the rest of my life. Thank you, Itachi."

He took her face in his hands. "I love you."

"And I love you."

And they sealed their marriage with a kiss, with Kisame demanding that they get a room.

It had been a rough day. Very rough. The cough was getting worse and his weight wasn't holding up.

Mariko saw the specks of blood he tried to hide from her in his handkerchief.

She found him sitting on the floor, wrapped up in her frayed blanket. These days he couldn't stay warm. His eyes were trained on the pouring rain just outside the open door. The streams of water poured off the roof like small waterfalls.

The cup of tea rattled on its saucer as she sat next to him. Crossing her legs and sitting as close as possible, she pressed up against him.

He didn't care for the herbal tea that she prepared for him, but once she convinced him to drink the first batch, he realized that it really did help his coughing fits.

As he sipped his tea his eyes stayed trained on the falling rain, his mind elsewhere.

Not breaking the silence that she sensed he needed, she gently rested her temple on his shoulder.

They watched the weather in silence for a while as he finished his drink. He eventually rested his cheek on top of her head. A stray strand of his hair fell into her face, tickling her nose.

They didn't move for a very long time. They melted into one another, their breathing synchronized and their bodies leaning into each other.

He set down his cup and rested a hand on her thigh, making her heart jump.

They both turned towards one another simultaneously, their noses almost touching. She began to protest but the look on his face shut her up quick.

"I need you..." he muttered.

And she gave herself to him.

Afterwards he had fallen asleep almost immediately, his arms draped around her loosely. She watched his eyes dart around behind his eyelids.

How would she ever let him go?

A cool breeze startled her awake. Something was wrong. She was alone in bed. A letter rested on his pillow. She didn't read it. She didn't need to. She knew.

She stumbled outside in a panic. The night was completely black. She couldn't pick up his trail. She fell to her knees and grabbed fistfuls of the earth. She screamed until she couldn't scream anymore. Itachi was gone, surrendering himself to his own death.

Kisame found her lying in the dirt, bloodshot eyes staring blankly.

With a light grunt he scooped her up effortlessly, her head rolling listlessly against his chest.

"Gone..." she croaked out.

"I know kid..." he said as soothingly as he could manage as he carried her into his dead friend's home.

She didn't speak for days. He couldn't get her to move from her spot on the floor in front of the large window.

For days she just sat there, fiddling with her pendent, her thumb tracing the carved Uchiha fan.

He tried. He wasn't good at comforting others, especially women, especially women in mourning.

So he waited. He waited for days. He wasn't sure what he was expecting to happen, but he knew he couldn't leave her alone.

The late evening air was muggy as he sat beside her, watching the trees move outside. He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. Maybe if he cleaned up around here it would cheer her up a bit.

A movement caught his eye. Half a dozen leaf ninja were growing closer as they leaped through the trees towards the house.

Without thinking, he split and ran outside. He was yards away when he realized Mariko hadn't followed.

She broke out of her daze.

She saw a few people in the distance, leaping through branches. Leaf ninja. So they had really found them.

She stared for a few long moments, watching the ninja jump around like grasshoppers, before turning to ask Kisame a question. She realized with a quiet 'oh' that he had ran off, leaving her behind.

She turned back and watched them edge closer. She stayed put on her spot on the floor. She couldn't run even if she wanted too. She was too weak.

At the last moment, it dawned on her to hide her pendant. She strategically hid it inside her bra before the first of them burst into the villa.

A young man riding on a great white dog was the first to come into the room. She kept staring at the window as if he wasn't there.

"Hey guys! I think I found her!" He called over his shoulder before turning back to stare some more. Were they here for her?

She heard heavy footsteps enter the room.

"Dear God..."

Well...she must look rougher than she thought.

Familiarity with the deep voice made her turn.

"Sensei?..." she whispered.

She felt hot fat tears start pouring down her cheeks. Her emotional stability was fragile to the point of nonexistence but she didn't think she even had any tears left.

"You came for me..." She bawled inelegantly; her gasps choked and gravelly. "I thought you never wanted to see me again..."

Ibiki didn't say anything. He scooped her up and cradled her like a child, like she weighed nothing. She probably did. She couldn't remember the last time she had been able to eat.

Ibiki had looked for her. He still cared enough to find her. He didn't hate her after all. She melted against him and sobbed loudly; Wave after wave of emotions drowning her.

She rode in front of the man on his white dog, whom she came to know as Kiba Inuzuka. He, along with Ibiki, and three other ninja had been sent out to retrieve her after an anonymous tip had been given about her location.

It had to have been Itachi or Itachi instructing Kisame. He had always known she would've been better off in Konoha, and he had secured her safe return there by staging her kidnapping and being held hostage by him. She was infuriated and touched by his taking care of her after he was gone.

Back at the village, she was checked out at the hospital and questioned by the espionage branch and, using her knowledge of the system, managed to come out without revealing any more than she had to about Itachi.

Believing that he had kidnapped her, everyone treated her like a fragile victim rather than a grieving widow. There wasn't much difference.

She was given her old apartment back. It had been untouched since she had left. Her landlords let her live there until she was ready to work again.

Ibiki would visit frequently and they would talk as if nothing had changed. Although she didn't do much of anything else aside from just trying to live, she did manage to adopt a little black kitten she found behind a dumpster. She named him, Karasu.

Mariko was managing fine until she realized that she was pregnant.

People started treating her different after her pregnancy started to show. Some still treated her with sympathy yes, and others, who were more oblivious to her situation, treated her like a normal expectant mother. Most either ignored her existence entirely or snubbed their noses at her. They talked about her and called her nasty things behind her back.

She had been tempted more than once to come out with the truth.

On her way home after one of her checkups, Kurenai Sarutobi spotted her and told her to wait up.

She was much farther along than Mariko. They chatted as Kurenai offered to walk with her as her home was near hers. She talked about Asuma and Mariko struggled to keep her mouth shut about Itachi.

Taking walks eventually became a habit of theirs and Mariko was very grateful to have a new friend.

On more than one occasion, Mariko snuck over to the Uchiha compound to look around. She longed to make her home here. She felt so close to him here. For the life of her, she could not get his words out of her head. I know you will make the uchiha name great again.

During one of her strolls she came across Itachi's old home. Gathering her courage she stepped inside.

She felt a shiver of uneasiness as she walked in but then managed to shrug it off. She had to find any trace of Itachi that she could. Her heart was aching.

She came across a closet and was startled by a bat when she opened the door. She sifted through boxes and finally came across one piled with old photo albums. She started to cry when Itachi's face started popping up. So many details about him that she had already started to forget.

"Oh Itachi..." She whispered as she fingered his face in a photograph of him in his Anbu uniform. He really had been so handsome.

It was then that she felt her child move for the first time.

Mariko had cried harder than she had in her entire life when he had been born. The baby had been perfect, thick black hair that fell in downy tufts on his crown, chubby porcelain skin. He was an exact reflection of his father.

He had not come easy; Mariko's tiny frame could barely manage. She feared for their child's health since he was conceived while Itachi was gravely ill and she had not taken very good care of herself those first few weeks. But despite the pain and all her fears, after a full day's struggle, he arrived red faced and screaming.

She cried out with him. Her cries echoed and bounced against the hospital's white walls. Her emotions were a tangled mess. She cried out for joy, for her son had been born healthy and strong. She cried out in pain, for as much as she ached and willed her husband to be with her to see how wonderful their son was, he was gone. She cried for the things that should have been but would never be. She cried in wonder, for she had never felt a love like this.

For the next few weeks, the baby was right next to her. When she found out that she had been pregnant, she was shocked and terrified. His wide black eyes and serious disposition were a testament of his bloodline. He was an Uchiha through and through; although there were glimpses of her as well.

This baby would save her. She would go on living for her son.

When Sasuke returned to the village, she waited for a few days, and then took her strong willed toddler to meet him.

It hadn't even crossed her mind to be angry of hate him. Sasuke had defeated Itachi, the murdering phsycopath, not Itachi the kind brother. The loving husband. Itachi the father.

She covered a gasp when she met him on a gravel road. He looked so similar to Itachi that it took her breath away. Her aching heart pounded the closer she got. She paused in front of him and he stopped, watching her with a blank expression.

"Hello. My name is Mariko." She introduced herself awkwardly. "This...This is my son, Kitto."

She swallowed thickly. Nervous at his reaction, she clung to her small sons shoulders.

It was unnerving looking at him now. He had been just a kid when he left the village all those years ago. He was taller than Itachi had been by a couple of inches

Sasuke waited for her to elaborate, eyes darting down at Kitto in confusion. He had to have noticed their resemblance.

"I'm not sure how to say it, so I guess l'll just say it. Kitto is your nephew."

A moment of silence as Sasuke looked hard into Kitto's face before the tattoos of Ravens on Mariko's collarbone and shoulder caught his eye. Something in his mind clicked and the normally stoic collected man fell to his knees. He stared in wonder at the small person before him. He didn't ask any questions. He just stared for the longest time, tears staining his skin.

He lifted his arm to touch Kitto's cheek, hesitated, and then let his hand fall back to his side. His eyes trailed back up to Mariko.

"Did you love my brother?"

"Yes." Mariko answered without hesitation. She smiled warmly. "I was married to him after all."

Sasuke dropped his head into his good hand as his shoulders started to shake.

Kitto, becoming uneasy, turned and reached for his mother, opening and closing his chubby fists.

She obliged and after settling her son on her hip, knelt next to Sasuke and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Thank you..." Sasuke's head darted up and he looked her square in the eye. "Thank you for giving my brother happiness."

Mariko felt her heart squeeze tightly. "Listen, Sasuke. I know this is too much to ask. But Kitto doesn't have a male influence in his life...and I've given it a lot of thought...and I want to ask you if you would be Kitto's mentor."

Even though she rehearsed the words multiple times, she still couldn't help the twinge of guilt in the pit of her stomach. This man didn't even know them. How could she expect anything from him.

"I just...We're family...and if we stick together-"

Sasuke held up a hand to silence her, and then ruffled Kitto's hair as gently as if he were petting a newborn kitten.

"You're right. We're family." He smile affectionately; nodding in agreement.

Mariko felt tears brimming on the edge of her eye lids. "Sasuke."

They both stood and, without warning, Sasuke embraced her. He wrapped his arms around the both of them while he cradled her head in his large hand.

And for the first time in five years, Mariko felt like she was finally home.

 _If you are reading this, WOW. You are dedicated and awesome! Even though it may not be the best and I'm not NEAR a professional writer, this fic rolled me around a year to finish. Thank you for reading it! You are AWESOME AND I LOVE YOU. :D keep your eye out of Itachi and Mariko and Kitto one shots in the future! Thank you once again for reading my baby, the Dwindling Light 3_


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